Colby Covington says he’s been iced out by the UFC. |
Getty/UFC
Colby
Covington’s most recent layoff might not have been completely
by choice.
During a recent Q&A session with streamer N3on, Covington
addressed the
UFC’s negotiating tactics. According to “Chaos,” the promotion
plays hardball when it comes to matchmaking.
“You have no say,” Covington said (transcription via MMAFighting.com). “Hunter Campbell, who is like
the UFC lawyer, he kind of just tells you what direction they’re
going to go, and it’s either you take it or leave it. So, you don’t
really get a choice what you want to do. They just leave you. They
ice you. They won’t give you fights. They’ll just let you sit out
there. They’ll say, ‘Hey, you turned down this fight, now you’re
not going to fight for the year. You’re not going to make money.’
They’ll freeze you out.
“Even if it’s not a good move, and you’re not getting paid what you
think you deserve, it doesn’t matter. They say, ‘You either accept
it and be a company man, or we’ll just ice you, and you don’t get a
fight to make money.’”
Covington hasn’t fought since December 2024, when he suffered a
third-round doctor stoppage loss to Joaquin
Buckley at UFC on ESPN 63. Despite the inactivity, the
38-year-old former interim welterweight king and multi-time title
challenger is still a popular callout target within the promotion.
Covington wanted a spot on the
UFC White House card but was left on the outside looking in
when pairings for the June 14 event were announced.
Fighting for Legacy
In the meantime, Covington has found a new competitive outlet with
Real America Freestyle. The former national champion wrestler at
Iowa Central Community College defeated Luke
Rockhold at RAF 5 on Jan. 10 and is slated to face Dillon
Danis at RAF 7 on March 28. While Covington gives himself
another “year or so” in the UFC, he believes he can continue to
wrestle for “six, seven, eight years, because it’s low-impact.”
However, Covington still holds out hope that he’ll get a booking
with the UFC that intrigues him.
“I want big names,” Covington said. “I want something that gets me
excited to get out of bed. They’re talking about fighting nobodies
or no-names that do nothing for me. I would just be fighting for
money. I don’t want to just fight for money. I want to fight for
legacy.”