LAS VEGAS -- Time away from the Octagon has done nothing to change Colby Covington. The former interim welterweight champion will have his first fight of any kind in 20 months on Saturday at T-Mobile Arena when he challenges Leon Edwards for the welterweight title in the main event of UFC 296.
It will be his first championship bout in 25 months.
There is, though, no frustration on Covington's part, no angst and certainly no lack of confidence. He was the back-up for Edwards' successful title defense against Kamaru Usman on March 18 at UFC 286 in London, but when both Edwards and Usman were able to go, Covington was reduced to being a high-profile spectator.
Little has changed in terms of his belief in himself and his ability to deliver zingers. He is, he said, onboard with whatever plan UFC CEO Dana White and Chief Business Officer Hunter Campbell deem best. And if that meant sitting out, well, Covington was going to sit out until they had a fight for him.
"Not at all, man," Covington told keviniole.com when asked if the time away has been frustrating. "I'm a multi-million dollar athlete. I have a job, unlike yourself (Editor's note: I was laid off from Yahoo Sports on Dec. 1 after nearly 17 years). Things are great, man. Business is flowing and I'm living the American dream. How could I ever be anything but thankful?"
Covington is a slight underdog to Edwards after having lost his last two title fights to Usman. Edwards is a -155 favorite, with Covington at +130 at DraftKings. Covington was stopped in the fifth round in Las Vegas by Usman at UFC 245 on Dec. 14, 2019, and then lost a controversial in their rematch on Nov. 6, 2021, at UFC 268 in New York.
Covington will be one of the best professional wrestlers in the world when his MMA career is done if he chooses to go that route. No one sells a fight like him and few have the ability to impact the fans' emotionally as he does. The fans who support him love him unconditionally, while those who are opposed get irrationally angry at what he says. It's a microcosm of the way American politics is at this point in the 21st century.
One of the tricks heels in pro wrestling use is to deny reality, particularly when what they're denying has been so well-documented. And while there is a bit of that in Covington's approach, it's not solely what he's doing.
Every fighter wants to be a champion, and Covington is no different. He not only wants to gain the welterweight belt on Saturday, he wouldn't mind challenging Sean Strickland in 2024 for the middleweight championship. And so when he says he's not frustrated by having to wait, it's because of how he's put together.
"The UFC is a multi-billion dollar publicly traded company. I want to do the biggest and best business the UFC has to offer. If they want to give me a middleweight title shot, sure, I'd love to take it. That would be the easiest fight anybody could ever get in that division. Sean Strickland is not a competitive fighter. He's not a well-rounded fighter. Of course everybody's confident and wants to fight that guy right now."
Colby Covington, UFC welterweight contender
When you talk about fighting skill and the ability to go 25 minutes at an elite pace, there are few better than Covington. But there are many better athletically in the UFC. Just look at the athletes and you'll see far superior athletes. Yet, Covington wins and wins consistently. He's 17-3 now after having started his career 15-1, and it's no stretch to think that he could end 2024 having held both the UFC welterweight and middleweight titles.
No one outworks him. No one. And so when he's off 18 months, it's why he can fly to London and make weight as a back-up in three days. The reason he's able to do that is simple: He's never out of elite shape.
"I tell people all the time, I'm not the biggest and I'm not the strongest," he said. "I'm just the nastiest. My body is a vessel driven by the grace of God and the power of the American dream. I can be delayed, but I will not be denied."
Edwards scoffs at such talk. While "cardio is a weapon," may turn out to be a theme of fight week, Edwards told keviniole.com he thinks it's overblown. Who, he asked, has Covington's cardio been a weapon against?
He immediately brought up Robbie Lawler, the former UFC welterweight champion whom Covington routed in Newark, New Jersey, on Aug. 3, 2019.
"His cardio was a weapon against Robbie Lawler, but I don't think that was the same Robbie Lawler we saw before the Rory MacDonald fight," Edwards said. "Was his cardio a weapon against Usman? If I'm not mistaken, he got knocked out in the fifth in one of his fights with Usman."
Covington, though, doesn't worry about such comments. He called Edwards one of the biggest cheaters in the sport and not-so-subtly sent a message to the officials to watch for fouls by Edwards. He said Edwards is known for poking opponents in the eyes, grabbing the fence and shorts and anything he believes will help him win. Is Edwards consciously attempting to cheat? Likely not, and the fouls are something that happen during the heat of the moment.
Covington, though, takes advantage of his media opportunities to not only sell himself, but to set an agenda.
"Leon's a bigger cheater than those guys," Covington said of Edwards' recent opponents. "He's learned to look for every advantage in that cage, and to cheat and to do things that are against the rules. He pokes people in the eyes. He grabs the fence. He kicks people in the nuts. He grabs the shorts. Those guys all had integrity, something Leon knows nothing about."
He said he'll suffocate Edwards and make him quit. And if he does win the title, he wouldn't be opposed to a crack at Strickland's belt.
Strickland was in the welterweight division while Covington was and Covington was ranked ahead of him. He said Strickland would be an easy fight for him, but reiterated his point that he'll do what White and Campbell ask.
"The UFC is a multi-billion dollar publicly traded company," Covington said. "I want to do the biggest and best business the UFC has to offer. If they want to give me a middleweight title shot, sure, I'd love to take it. That would be the easiest fight anybody could ever get in that division. Sean Strickland is not a competitive fighter. He's not a well-rounded fighter. Of course everybody's confident and wants to fight that guy right now. I just want to do whatever the UFC and Dana White and Hunter Campbell want to do.
"I have Leon on Saturday and I'll have to deal with him. I'm not going to look past Saturday. But once I get past Leon, I'm open for business, as always."