UFC Tampa: Revisiting Colby Covington's 5 most controversial moments

UFC Tampa headliner Colby Covington is counted among the most polarizing personalities in the sport of MMA. The former interim UFC welterweight champion has long been known to elicit mixed reactions with his statements and actions, be it with his socio-political assertions or fight promotion trash talk. Some deem his statements as honest while others label them as incendiary.

Covington vowed to defeat Joaquin Buckley in their five-round welterweight bout that'll headline the final UFC main roster event of the 2024 calendar year. Having lost thrice in as many attempts to capture the undisputed UFC welterweight title, many view this as a crossroads fight for 'Chaos' and a golden opportunity for him to steal Buckley's momentum and earn a fourth shot at undisputed gold.

Today, in honor of the high-stakes 170-pound showdown, we revisit some of Covington's most controversial moments -- from press conferences to street fights. Without further ado, let's get into it!

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#5 Colby Covington drags Matt Hughes into feud with Robbie Lawler

Colby Covington captured the interim UFC welterweight title by outpointing Rafael dos Anjos in 2018, but he was subsequently stripped of the title because an injury forced him to the sidelines. Regardless, Covington maintained that he was the uncrowned champion and promised to officially dethrone then-undisputed UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman.

Covington returned to the octagon after over a year away, facing MMA legend and former UFC welterweight champion Robbie Lawler in the headlining match of a UFC Fight Night card in Aug. 2019. He thoroughly out-grappled and out-struck 'Ruthless' over the course of five rounds, thereby securing a unanimous decision win.

The lead-up and aftermath of his win over Lawler was marked by intense trash talk by Covington. A notable, and perhaps the most controversial, moment of their rivalry came during his post-fight octagon interview.

'Chaos' referenced former UFC welterweight champion and Lawler's longtime friend and ex-training partner Matt Hughes' June 2017 vehicle-train accident. Lambasting Lawler, whom Covington trained with for years at ATT (American Top Team), and sounding off on Hughes as well, the ardent Donald Trump supporter stated:

"Hey, let's talk about the lesson we learned tonight. It's a strong lesson that Robbie should've learned from his good buddy, Matt Hughes. You stay off the tracks when the train's coming through, Junior. Don't matter if it's the Trump train or the Colby train, get out the way!"

Check out Colby Covington's comments below (1:13):

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#4 Colby Covington vs. Brazilian fans

In retrospect, many of Colby Covington's supporters often cite his fight against Brazilian BJJ and MMA great Demian Maia as his career's turning point. Covington himself has sometimes broken character and suggested that he was supposedly on the verge of being cut from the UFC despite having a winning record, owing to his purportedly unentertaining fighting style and lack of trash talk.

Covington has occasionally indicated that he drew inspiration from other microphone savants and relentless orators like Chael Sonnen and put forth an entertaining persona of himself to hype his fights and secure his UFC spot. Before he beat Brazil's Rafael dos Anjos for the interim belt, he'd faced another veteran Brazilian fighter Demian Maia in the previous fight.

After besting Maia via unanimous decision in Sao Paulo, Brazil, in Oct. 2017, Covington went off on the booing fans in the Brazilian venue and called out then-welterweight kingpin Tyron Woodley:

"I should've knocked him out. Brazil, you're a dump! All you filthy animals su*k! I got one thing to say. Tyron Woodley, I'm coming for you! If you don't answer the front door, I'm gonna knock it in, and I'm gonna take what's mine, that welterweight belt!"

Covington even pushed the official Brazilian-Portuguese translator away, asserting that he wouldn't be translating his comments inside the octagon that night. 'Chaos' later claimed that his life was in danger after the speech and that the UFC protected him and ensured his safe return to the United States of America.

Watch Covington's speech below (0:27):

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#3 Colby Covington vs. Jorge Masvidal

For years, Colby Covington trained with Jorge Masvidal. The two were even roommates at one point in time. Training and sparring together at the world-renowned ATT gym in Florida, Covington was known to help Masvidal with his grappling while 'Gamebred' helped him with his striking.

Eventually, Masvidal moved up from lightweight to welterweight and achieved tremendous success, particularly in 2019. The inaugural BMF champion and Covington's friendship took a turn for the worse when both pursued the coveted undisputed UFC welterweight championship, which neither fighter has been able to win to date.

The friends-turned-foes hurled many fiery jibes at one another, with Covington even making personal remarks regarding Masvidal's former partner and his relationship with his children. 'Chaos' eventually beat him in a welterweight MMA bout inside the octagon in March 2022, but their rivalry didn't end there.

Later that month, Masvidal allegedly attacked and hurt Covington while the latter was exiting a restaurant in Miami. Masvidal was later arrested and the two fighters clashed in a legal battle. In Nov. 2023, Masvidal agreed to a plea deal, accepting a misdemeanor battery charge.

To this day, it's considered one of the most extreme incidents of UFC and MMA feuds gone wrong, as many believe that the street fight scenario could've gone awry and led to serious injury or worse.

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#2 Racism accusations against Colby Covington, controversial comments about Kamaru Usman

Former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley time and again criticized Colby Covington, suggesting that the latter's trash talk is marked by allegedly racist undertones. Woodley was a vocal supporter of the Black Lives Matter movement, whereas Covington was its relentless opposer, even labeling the BLM movement as "a complete sham."

Covington reaffirmed his stance after stopping Woodley via fifth-round TKO in their fight in Sept. 2020. Also, he took aim at then-UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman, whom 'Chaos' had been knocked out by in Dec. 2019. Covington appeared to jibe at Usman, a Nigeria-born American, over the latter's Nigerian heritage. Many deemed his comments as racist.

Covington spoke to Usman, who was a part of the UFC analyst team, via a video call backstage after beating Woodley. Pointing out that he'd gotten a call from then-U.S. President Donald Trump after beating Woodley and Usman hadn't, Covington said:

"Who did you get a call from? You get a call from freakin', your little tribe? They give you some smoke signals for you?"

Watch their heated exchange below (0:07):

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#1 Colby Covington and Leon Edwards nearly get into a scuffle after comments about his late father

Colby Covington was unsuccessful in his attempts at capturing undisputed welterweight gold, losing to Kamaru Usman twice during 'The Nigerian Nightmare's' title reign. After Leon Edwards dethroned Usman, Covington entered the title picture was fought the Englishman in Dec. 2023, only to lose via unanimous decision.

More than the Edwards-Covington fight, it was their pre-fight press conference that became a hot-button topic. Covington brought up Edwards' late father, who'd passed away in a London nightclub shooting many years ago. He stated:

"You might be the stupidest guy on the UFC roster. Literally, you're so f**king stupid. On Saturday night, I'm gonna bring you to a place you never wanna be. I'm going to bring to the seventh layer hair, hell. No, I'm bringing you to the seventh-layer hell. We'll say what's up to your dad while we're there."

Leon Edwards responded by throwing a bottle in Colby Covington's general direction. Furthermore, after outpointing him later that week, 'Rocky' seemed incredibly emotional in his post-fight octagon interview, speaking to Joe Rogan and condemning Covington's tactic of disrespecting his deceased father for entertainment.

Watch the incident below (0:51):