Colby Covington Finally Reveals Why He Turned into a Bad Guy

One of the most controversial figures in the sport of MMA, Colby Covington is notorious for his performances both outside and inside the octagon. To his credit, he is the only UFC champion to go and hang out with the President of the United States. The show he put on against the former champion, Robbie Lawler was jaw-dropping, to say the least. And now he is all set to fight for the undisputed welterweight title at UFC 245.

Covington is one of the best welterweights on the planet right now. His skillsets are enough to shut the critics up for good. Then why does he need a heel gimmick which makes him unlikeable among the fans? Well, in a recent interview Colby Covington revealed the origin of the chaos.

Colby Covington was on the verge of getting cut from UFC roaster before his last three fights as UFC did not find him marketable. 

Related: Colby Covington Controversies

“I’ve never told this story before but three fights ago, before I fought the No. 2 guy in the world, this guy named Demian Maia in Brazil, they had told my manager Dan Lambert that they weren’t going to re-sign me. They didn’t like my style, they didn’t like that I wasn’t entertaining. This is before I really started to become an entertainer and really understand the entertainment aspect of the business. Before this fight, they told me no matter what happens, I was ranked No. 6 in the world, we’re not re-signing you, we don’t like your character, we don’t like your fighting style. And I’m getting paid $30,000 to go fight the No. 2 guy in the world. After you pay taxes and pay your coaches you’re really going to get $5000 or $10,000,”  said Covington.

However, Covington would take his fortune into his own hands, go out there, and dominate Demian Maia in Brazil and cut a memorable promo. This forced UFC to keep Covington in the company as the promo generated nuclear heat. Covington revealed:

“So I go out there and I beat him up and leave him in a pool of blood in Sao Paulo, in his home city. I shoot this promo on the Brazilians and say, ‘You guys are all a bunch of filthy animals and Brazil you’re a dump.’ So I go and shoot this promo, and I wasn’t supposed to have my job, but that promo goes so viral on the internet, that the UFC’s like, we have to keep him, we have to re-sign him because that promo is so big. So that’s what saved my career and that was the turning point of my career. The rest has been history.”

The heel gimmick of Covington has nothing to do with the elite level of skillsets he brings in to the UFC octagon. And it will be on display again when he takes on the Nigerian nightmare, Kamaru Usman in the main event of UFC 245.