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UFC welterweight contender Colby Covington is one of the most divisive fighters in the promotion right now.
'Chaos', who is expected to face UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman in a highly anticipated rematch later this year, is one of the best 170-lbers on the planet. But arguably his biggest asset is his brash, no-holds-barred personality, which has brought him immense fame and success in the UFC since he adopted it after beating Demain Maia in October 2017.
Covington's persona is only an act, with several UFC personalities like Chael Sonnen and Dana White talking about how he is a nice person off camera. On camera, too, we've seen a few chinks in his armor.
Here are five times Colby Covington broke character after adopting the "heel" persona.
#5 Colby Covington laughs after Alexander Volkanovski stands up for nerds and virgins
Colby Covington uses several gimmicks to keep his persona alive, one of which is taking aim at the stereotypically less popular members of society - nerds and virgins.
When UFC reporter Megan Olivi once asked a few fighters on stage whether they had shared their Spotify stats online, UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski replied by saying he hadn't had the chance to do so. Covington, who was also part of the conversation, said, "Sounds like something a nerd or a virgin would do."
At the end of the interaction, as a closing remark, Volkanovski made it a point to insist that there's nothing wrong with being a nerd or a virgin, elicting a laugh from the usually stoic Covington. Later, when 'Chaos' was asked about his true beliefs on the subject, he smilingly agreed with Volkanovski (albeit in slightly backhanded fashion).
It wasn't much, but Colby Covington has rarely broken character in the few years he has maintained the "heel" persona.
#4 Colby Covington reveals the truth behind his persona
A few interviews have brought out Colby Covington's more polite side. He has revealed several interesting snippets behind his transition while insisting that he remains true to himself.
When asked about the differences between his "real" persona and his "fighter" persona, Covington once said:
"It's always been me, it's all real. It's just me turning it up to 11. Earlier in my career I was scared of saying certain things because I didn't know how the UFC was going to judge or react, and I didn't want to lose my job. As soon as I turned it up to 11, I started getting title fights. I tried to make it cool for the fans, and that's what it's all about. Whether they hate me or love me, they're emotionally invested in me. And I'm going to keep being brash and give them something to smile about or laugh about."
#3 Colby Covington explains how to "draw casual fans"
The word "casual" is thrown around far too easily in the MMA community nowadays, often as an insult. It is important to realize that "casual" fans play a massive role in growing the sport of MMA as a whole, something which Colby Covington once clearly pointed out.
Explaining why his persona is necessary for the UFC to broaden its horizons, Covington said:
"You can't get the casual fans into MMA easily. You need to draw other people to the sport, and that's the promotional side a lot of fighters don't get. You can't be entertaining only inside the cage; you got to be entertaining on social media to get fans to engage. You have to get fans to want to watch your fights, whether they want to see you lose or win. Ultimately, they have to buy your pay-per-views. And that's where Colby 'Chaos' Covington came in, to make the UFC great again."
#2 Colby Covington's BT Sport interview
Ahead of his UFC title fight against Kamaru Usman, Colby Covington bared it all in a fascinating interview with BT Sport.
Covington explained how the UFC were planning on cutting him irrespective of the outcome of his fight against Demain Maia in Sao Paulo in October 2017 because of him not being interesting enough. Whether this is true remains to be ascertained, especially since 'Chaos' was on a winning streak at the time.
But it's definitely true that Covington needed to make a change to become more popular, which is exactly what he did with the infamous call-out of Brazil and the welterweight champion at the time, Tyron Woodley.
Covington was "out of character" for almost the entirety of the above interview.
#1 Colby Covington's famous fan interaction
Ahead of his UFC Newark fight against Robbie Lawler in August 2019, Colby Covington showed his soft side in an honest interaction with fans.
As several fans approached him with requests for pictures and autographs, the 33-year-old obliged patiently and even handed them his belt to pose with, unprompted.
Perhaps the most telling moment of the interaction came when an upcoming fighter asked him for advice. Covington gave him a few pearls of wisdom, emphasizing the need to be dedicated and true to yourself. When the fan politely asked why he doesn't show more of this side on camera, 'Chaos' replied with "That's not what sells."
