{"id":549245,"date":"2026-03-18T22:23:09","date_gmt":"2026-03-18T22:23:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/549245\/"},"modified":"2026-03-18T22:23:09","modified_gmt":"2026-03-18T22:23:09","slug":"colby-covington-rips-ufc-for-major-problem-hurting-fighters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/549245\/","title":{"rendered":"Colby Covington Rips UFC for Major Problem Hurting Fighters"},"content":{"rendered":"<p id=\"inline-text-0\" class=\"mt-[18px] md:mt-0 mb-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"4v\">Former UFC Interim Welterweight Champion Colby Covington has been out of action since a main event loss at UFC Tampa <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/fannation\/mma\/ex-champ-colby-covington-breaks-silence-joaquin-buckley-loss-ufc-tampa\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">opposite Joaquin Buckley in Dec. 2024<\/a>. Having lost three of his last four fights, Covington is beginning to grow increasingly frustrated with the way the promotion has done business surrounding his career.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-1\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"4y\">If a turn for the better doesn&#8217;t happen soon, it could result in the end of his UFC career entirely. Now, Covington has gone public with his frustrations about the company and is competing in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/aclk?sa=L&amp;ai=DChsSEwjUxd_HnKqTAxUsJUQIHTQTOpwYACICCAEQABoCZHo&amp;ae=2&amp;co=1&amp;ase=2&amp;gclid=Cj0KCQjwmunNBhDbARIsAOndKpmIL3qjrX9Cy_j3TQvNK2bq-hiEqS8szEWbwjZJDlRAIYDub81iUmYaAm8cEALw_wcB&amp;ei=XwK7aejuHdruiLMPqNDzqQI&amp;cid=CAASugHkaMpJzHA2BwcqXkNAF7wCBMunOsP0HNVs8D7SKYi2tcBCdzdsbTuklHGeJs494s1_33adakmo9NOpB_vt3J2iSi9cKIS2feIU4ut0kd2ZDCOUATJG1V897YfSYMy_MkH2TqlMyg7_ZQqHM0M3bYhlXcv0c6a9Ijf_K2anl8at3-5O54kcxlDPSZUebnFzXvN4GTSGhjU23EBAD95imjfxIig1NdbvCepsh0RaVT7qLeeL7XZkKy8h-uM&amp;cce=2&amp;category=acrcp_v1_71&amp;sig=AOD64_2Rqo5t95wGzCM5BcsnhN7O-33g0g&amp;q&amp;sqi=2&amp;nis=4&amp;adurl&amp;ved=2ahUKEwiomtbHnKqTAxVaN2IAHSjoPCUQ0Qx6BAgMEAE\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Real American Freestyle (RAF) 07<\/a> March 28 vs. Dillon Danis to continue to remain active in combat sports.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-2\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"51\">In a new video <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=HUhE4trX-Qk\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">released by streamer N3ON,<\/a> Covington was unapologetic about where his MMA career currently stands.<\/p>\n<p>Colby Covington Trashes UFC Brass Over Inactivity<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/01km18yba4c64d08dzfz.jpg\" alt=\"UFC CEO Dana White answers questions.\" title=\"UFC CEO Dana White answers questions.\" width=\"7328\" height=\"4122\" class=\"undefined w-full w-full blur-[5px]\" q:id=\"5e\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Feb 21, 2026; Houston, Texas, USA; UFC President Dana White speaks after UFC Fight Night at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images | Troy Taormina-Imagn Images<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-5\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"5i\">\u201cYou have no say,\u201d Covington said of the UFC&#8217;s matchmaking. \u201cHunter Campbell, who is like the UFC\u2019s lawyer, he kinda just tells you what direction they\u2019re gonna go in and it\u2019s either you take it or leave it. So you don\u2019t really get a choice in what you wanna do. They just leave you, they ice you.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-6\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"5l\">Covington was far from done, though. Contrary to Bo Nickal&#8217;s comments about Covington turning him down, he said he was willing and able to fight anyone during the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/fannation\/mma\/ufc-reveals-fights-for-historic-white-house-card\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">UFC Freedom 250<\/a> card Sunday, June 14, from the White House in Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-7\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"5o\">But the UFC, for reasons unclear to Covington, didn&#8217;t grant him the opportunity to do so.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-8\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"5r\">\u201cThey\u2019ll freeze you out, even if it\u2019s not a good move and you don\u2019t think you\u2019re getting paid what you deserve, it doesn\u2019t matter,\u201d Covington said. \u201cThey say, \u2018Hey, you either accept it, be a company man, or we\u2019ll just ice you and you don\u2019t get a fight to make money.&#8217;\u201d<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-9\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"5u\"> This puts Covington in a difficult position, especially as an independent contractor who said he doesn&#8217;t feel like he&#8217;s being valued by the promotion.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-10\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"5x\">In a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=ceTb-gct-rA\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">separate video from Covington,<\/a> he again pitched the idea of fighting Nickal if he is victorious against Kyle Daukas.<\/p>\n<p>Colby Covington Still Interested in Fight vs. Bo Nickal<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/01km190w0wbab64vbc8k.jpg\" alt=\"Bo Nickal after UFC 322\" title=\"Bo Nickal after UFC 322\" width=\"2931\" height=\"1648\" class=\"undefined w-full w-full blur-[5px]\" q:id=\"6a\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Nov 15, 2025; New York, NY, UNITED STATES; Bo Nickal (red gloves) reacts after defeating Rodolfo Vieira (not pictured) during the middleweight bout during UFC 322 at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland-Imagn Images | Ed Mulholland-Imagn Images<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-13\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6e\">\u201cIf we\u2019re the same weight like you claim, that means you\u2019re 190 pounds and a full camp should get you down to 170 [pounds] as well. I propose we do this in a weight class where one of us is ranked and there\u2019s actual stakes,\u201d Covington said.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-14\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6h\">Covington, too, wants to fight him as soon as possible.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-15\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6k\">&#8220;How about bring that stupid ginger bowl cut down to 170 pounds and I\u2019ll grant you your wish to fight the biggest name in the welterweight division,&#8221; Covington said. &#8220;We could do it this summer too if you want.\u201d<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-16\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6n\"> It remains to be seen if the UFC listens, but it seems more doubtful than not. At least, for now, Covington has not remained silent about his immediate future in MMA.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Former UFC Interim Welterweight Champion Colby Covington has been out of action since a main event loss at&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":549246,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[570],"tags":[64,63,786,785,85],"class_list":["post-549245","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mma","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-fighting","tag-mma","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/549245","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=549245"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/549245\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/549246"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=549245"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=549245"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=549245"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}