Colby Ray Covington is an American mixed martial artist currently signed with Ultimate Fighting Championship. Born on February 22, 1988, the 32 year old fighter made his UFC debut in 2014. He has a UFC Record of 15-2 and is one of the greats in the industry. He is also the former interim UFC Welterweight Champion.
Colby Covington made his martial arts debut at a very young age when he used to study at the Thurston High School in Springfield, Oregon. He also won the 171 lb state championship as a senior. After finishing high school, he went to Arizona State University. But due to poor test scores, he went to Iowa Central Community College. Over there, he won the 165 lb national junior college wrestling with a 34–0 record. He was also roommates with Jon Jones, who will go on to become the future UFC champion Jon Jones. Covington also joined a wrestling program at the University of Iowa. Over there he found himself in a lot of trouble with the police and was arrested for eluding police and driving under the influence.
Covington joined Dan Lambert, owner of American Top Team, to help him boost his gym's wrestling training. Shortly after joining Dan, Covington started pursuing a professional mixed martial arts (MMA) career and moved to South Florida. His impressive 5–0 over there earned him interest from the UFC and a subsequent contract in the summer of 2014.
Colby Covington's UFC career began at UFC Fight Night 48 on August 23, 2014. He faced Anying Wang and won the fight by TKO in the closing seconds of the first round. He has a UFC Record of 15-2. Out of the 15 victories he won eight of them by unanimous decision, five via submission and two by Knockouts. One loss each via submission and knockout account for Covington's two career losses.
Covington fought and defeated Rafael dos Anjos on June 9, 2018 at UFC 225 by unanimous decision and became the Interim UFC Welterweight Champion. Colby was however unable to face the then champion Tyron Woodley for the Championship unification bout due to his nasal surgery. As a result he was replaced by Darren Till. On July 24 it was revealed by authorities thay Covington would be stripped of the Interim UFC Welterweight Championship, once the bout between Woodley and Till takes place on September 8.
On August 3, 2019 Covington returned to fight Robbie Lawler in the main event of UFC on ESPN 5 which he won after setting a record for the most strikes thrown in a UFC bout with 541 strikes.
Currently, Colby Covington's next fight is scheduled on September 19th 2020 where he will fight his longtime rival Tyron Woodley.
Covington made multiple appearances in Impact Wrestling. In 2017, Colby joined Lashley and King Mo. to defeat the team of Moose and Stephan Bonnar at Bound for Glory.
In February 2018, Covington made an appearance at the WrestlePro event where he defeated TyQuil Woodley, a parody character of Tyron Woodley.
Colby Covington’s record stands at 15-2. He is the former interim UFC Welterweight Champion.
| Matches | Wins | Loses | Draws |
| 17 | 15 | 2 | 0 |
Wins by Submission:
5
Wins by Decision:
8
Wins by Knockouts:
2
Current Titles:
None
Reach:
71 in (180cm)
Weight:
170 lb / 77 kg
Weight Class:
Welterweight
Given below is the MMA and UFC professional record of Colby Covington:
| Result | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date |
| Loss | 15–2 | Kamaru Usman | TKO (punches) | UFC 245 | December 14, 2019 |
| Win | 15–1 | Robbie Lawler | Decision (unanimous) | UFC on ESPN: Covington vs. Lawler | August 3, 2019 |
| Win | 14–1 | Rafael dos Anjos | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 225 | June 9, 2018 |
| Win | 13–1 | Demian Maia | Decision (unanimous) | UFC Fight Night: Brunson vs. Machida | October 28, 2017 |
| Win | 12–1 | Dong Hyun Kim | Decision (unanimous) | UFC Fight Night: Holm vs. Correia | June 17, 2017 |
| Win | 11–1 | Bryan Barberena | Decision (unanimous) | UFC on Fox: VanZant vs. Waterson | December 17, 2016 |
| Win | 10–1 | Max Griffin | TKO (punches) | UFC 202 | August 20, 2016 |
| Win | 9–1 | Jonathan Meunier | Submission (rear-naked choke) | UFC Fight Night: MacDonald vs. Thompson | June 18, 2016 |
| Loss | 8–1 | Warlley Alves | Submission (guillotine choke) | UFC 194 | December 12, 2015 |
| Win | 8–0 | Mike Pyle | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 187 | May 23, 2015 |
| Win | 7–0 | Wagner Silva | Submission (rear-naked choke) | UFC Fight Night: Shogun vs. Saint Preux | November 8, 2014 |
| Win | 6–0 | Anying Wang | TKO (submission to punches) | UFC Fight Night: Bisping vs. Le | August 23, 2014 |
| Win | 5–0 | Jay Ellis | Submission (arm-triangle choke) | AFC 21: The Return | May 16, 2014 |
| Win | 4–0 | Jose Caceres | Decision (unanimous) | CFA 12: Sampo vs. Thao | October 12, 2013 |
| Win | 3–0 | Jason Jackson | Decision (unanimous) | Fight Time 10: It's Personal | June 22, 2012 |
| Win | 2–0 | David Hayes | Submission (arm-triangle choke) | Fight Time 9: MMA Explosion | April 27, 2012 |
| Win | 1–0 | Chris Ensley | Submission (knee injury) | Midtown Throwdown 3 | February 11, 2012 |
Covington was born on February 22, 1988 in Clovis, California, to Noelle and Brad Covington. Colby has two sisters named Candace and Callie. Colby gets his fighting skills in inheritance from his father who himself was a wrestler when he used to study at the Oregon Institute of Technology and Southern Oregon University.
Colby is a self-described "super villain" of the UFC. He never refrains from upsetting people with his trash talks. But some of his remarks are not well received by the public. One of such instances was when he called Brazil a "dump" and referred to the Brazilian crowd as "filthy animals" after his bout with Demian Maia.
But Colby said that his remark was a response to the UFC's threats to cut him before the Maia fight and even went on to date that the "Filthy Animals" speech "saved his career".
But Covington doesn't mind being regarded as the villain, in fact he enjoys his status. He went as far as to use WWE's Kurt Angle's entrance theme as the crowd chanted "You suck!" while he made his way into the octagon.
According to celebritynetworth.com, Colby Covington's Net Worth is estimated to be $2 million as of 2020. His all time career earnings amount to $1,439,000 through winnings. And although he lost to Kamaru Usman he still banked a whopping $580,000.
Why was Colby Covington stripped of his belt?
Covington fought and defeated Rafael dos Anjos on June 9, 2018 at UFC 225 by unanimous decision and became the Interim UFC Welterweight Champion. Colby was however unable to face the then champion Tyron Woodley for the Championship unification bout due to his nasal surgery. As a result he was replaced by Darren Till. On July 24 it was revealed by authorities thay Covington would be stripped of the Interim UFC Welterweight Championship, once the bout between Woodley and Till takes place on September 8.
Where does Colby Covington train?
Colby used to train at American Top Team. But he confirmed his split with the gym training at the Coconut Creek, Fla., gym as he transitioned into MMA.
What happened to Colby Covington?
Currently, Covington is scheduled to fight his longtime rival Tyron Woodley on September 19th 2020.
Where is Colby Covington from?
Colby Covington was born in Clovis, California, U.S. But his family moved to Oregon when he was eight years old.
