Colby Covington reveals his gimmick: “I’ve never told this story before…”
Colby Covington is one of the most hated UFC fighters in the modern era, but behind his gimmick there is a man that is trying to make most of his time in the limelight.
In an open-hearted interview at the Candace Owens Show, Covington shares what made him go from a hard-working fighter to a hard-working entertainer:
“I’ve never told this story before, but three fights ago, before I fought the number 2 guy in the world, this guy named Demian Maia in Brazil, [The UFC] had told my manager Dan Lambert that they weren’t going to resign me,” Colby Covington revealed.
“They didn’t like my style, they didn’t like that I wasn’t entertaining. And this was before I really started to become an entertainer and understand the entertainment aspect of this business.”
Covington fought Demian Maia in October 28, 2017 and made international headlines when he beat the former title contender by unanimous decision and made some outrageous comments in his post-fight interview:
“I should have knocked him out. Brazil, you’re a dump. All you filthy animals suck!”
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The interview that saved Colby Covington
Accordingly to Covington, he was told by the UFC that it didn’t matter if he won or lost the fight, he was still going to lose his contract:
“Before this (Maia) fight, they told me: ‘no matter what happens – I was ranked number 6 in the world- we’re not resigning you, we don’t like your character, we don’t like your fighting style,'” Covington shared.
“And I’m getting paid like $30,000 to fight the number 2 guy in the world… After you pay taxes and pay your coaches, you’re really gonna get like 10 or $15,000”
Covington says that that provocative interview saved his UFC career and that it was a major turning point for him.
Before that, he was on the verge of losing everything and he finally understood that he had to play a character to make people tune in.
“I completely proved them wrong with the show aspect and the entertainment aspect…”
Covington is currently on a seven-bout win streak and is set to challenge the reigning welterweight champion Kamaru Usman for the title on December 14, 2019 at UFC 245.
You can catch the whole Candace Owens Show interview here.
