Colby Covington Won’t Go Quietly

Colby Covington isn’t necessarily looking to lick his wounds after suffering a knockout loss to Joaquin Buckley. Instead, the former UFC interim welterweight champion is getting involved in conflicts with other MMA figures. Most recently, MMAfighting latest news shows that he is feuding with Gilbert Burns.
While the battle wasn’t necessarily one that was supposed to involve Covington, he was happy to get involved to stir the pot. Covington needs to find a way to stay relevant in the final act of his career. While Covington is 36 and still ranked in the top 10, he is a long way from serious title contention.
Covington failed in his three opportunities to capture the belt. He also has only fought once a year since 2020. If he wants to stay relevant in the sport, a fight against Gilbert Burns, who is 38, may be a good opportunity to keep his name in the headlines.
What is the Beef About?

Chael Sonnen is no stranger to conflict himself. During Sonnen’s career, he brought a lot of attention to himself by creatively taking people down with cutting insults. But the battle between Burns and Sonnen started with a mistake Sonnen made. Sonnen said during an appearance on a YouTube show that Burns was retired. According to MMA breaking news, Burns decided to retaliate by leaking Sonnen’s personal phone number on the internet.
This upset Covington. Covington and Sonnen have had a long relationship together. Sonnen walked out to the octagon for his fight with Buckley. While Covington isn’t nearly as clever as Sonnen on the microphone, there are some similarities in how bold they are willing to be in order to promote a fight. Neither man was ever shy about putting down an opponent with wild comments during a press conference.
Covington is more crude than Sonnen.
Burns Accepts Covington’s Offer of a Fight

Covington took to social media to display his anger with what Burns had done to Sonnen. The best MMA news sites show that Burns was amused by the display from Covington. Covington said that he would be willing to smash in Burns’ face for Sonnen.
Burns suggested a fight date of April in Miami, Florida. When Burns replied, he said in the message that he didn’t believe Covington would be willing to accept the fight. Covington faced a lot of criticism over the past few years from ranked fighters who accused Covington of ducking them.
Belal Muhammad, the current welterweight champion, challenged Covington for years, but the fight never took place. Covington is in search of the next step of his career.
Covington Was More Toned Down Before the Buckley Fight
When Covington returned to fight Buckley earlier this month, it was an interesting choice. Covington took the fight on short notice after an injury to Muhammad caused a few fights to be reshuffled. Once Covington started to promote the fight in Tampa, Florida, he was a lot more toned down.
He didn’t make as many outrageous proclamations or taunt his opponent in a coarse way. The worst buildup that Covington had was before his last fight with Leon Edwards in 2023.
While promoting the fight, Covington made a remark about Edwards’ dad being in hell. This was obviously in poor taste and wasn’t well received. It’s hard to say how much the reaction to that impacted Covington this time around.
Has Not Winning Fights Impacted Covington’s Rep?
The last positive moment for Covington in the UFC came back in March of 2022 at UFC 272. Covington was having a fight with his former friend and training partner, for whom he had developed a strong hatred. When Covington finally fought Jorge Masvidal, who was a former welterweight title challenger, the fight underwhelmed many viewers.
Covington won the fight, but it was a five-round decision where neither man came close to finishing the fight. It wasn’t a satisfying way to pay off an illegitimate drama. Instead, the two men would end up having a conflict outside of the octagon.
Masvidal sucker punched Covington outside of a steak restaurant in Miami. Covington suffered some injuries as a result of the punch. Many MMA fans would have rather watched a video of that configuration compared to how their actual fight turned out.
Covington has never been a fighter who produced many social-media-worthy finishes to his fights. Covington only has four wins by submission and four by knockout. Eleven of his 22 career fights have gone the distance.
Covington in Search of Meaning
Covington’s rise to prominence came during an interesting time in the United States. Covington adopted a gimmick of being ultra-macho and backing U.S. presidential elect Donald Trump. Trump, who has a long history with the UFC, attended several of Covington’s fights.
Covington often wore the Make America Great Again hats during appearances. But with Covington’s relevance fading and Trump getting ready to go back into the White House, it is doubtful that Covington will appeal to the same audience.
Covington not winning fights has also impacted his relevance. If he can fight a number of fighters in their late 30s or 40s, around his age, there’s a chance he may be able to string some wins together. However, Covington’s grappling-heavy approach requires a lot of energy.
Covington seems to be slowing down. He won’t have many fights left in his career. He will need to make the right steps moving forward to stay relevant.
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By Dean McHugh.