Afraid of ‘Big Egos’ Clashing, Colby Covington Takes a Multi-Million Dollar Precaution for UFC Tampa Fight Against Joaquin Buckley

Colby Covington was one of the most respectful and anodyne fighters before his heel turn midway through his career. ‘Chaos’ was warned by his then-manager in 2017 that he was at risk of being cut by the UFC, despite being on a four-fight win streak, and asked Covington to ‘change something’ before his next fight. And the former interim 170lbs champ changed his entire persona.

Gone was the meek and respectful guy, replaced with an arrogant, loud-mouthed, disrespectful, line-crossing Covington, who almost definitely took his lead from the likes of Conor McGregor, Chael Sonnen, and the great WWE heels like Ric Flair. Of course, this turned him into one of the biggest, most recognizable stats in the promotion, but it has had some dire consequences for him too.

Namely, he is not safe around his fellow fighters, many of whom he has talked trash about, and may throw hands at him on sight. This is almost definitely why he isn’t even staying at a hotel like the other fighters ahead of his UFC Tampa clash against Joaquin Buckley this weekend. Instead, he is shelling out a lot of money to rent a swanky mansion.

“We don’t stay in hotels bro. We get f***ing mansions, you know, I don’t need a hotel. I’m not like any other fighter, you know, we’re the main event. So we get our seven-bedroom mansion out here in Tampa and you know, we’ve just had a good week out here. I stay away from the fighters’ hotel. There’s too much drama that goes on there. All the fighters, you know, have big egos, and they love to talk s**t when they know they’re not going to get locked in a cage. So I don’t want to deal with that,” ‘Chaos’ told ‘MMAGuru’ in a recent interview.

Of course, Covington wants to do everything he can to go into UFC Tampa healthy and in a good state of mind, given the stakes for him. After all, the Buckley may determine the course of ‘Chaos’s UFC future.

Why UFC Tampa is potentially career-defining for Colby Covington?

Colby Covington will be 37 in a couple of months and looks past his prime. At least that is how it seemed in his last fight, a title clash against Leon Edwards. If the American wins the Buckley fight, he will be right back in title contention and could fight for the 170lbs gold in a year or two. If he loses, however, he will be in trouble.

‘Chaos’ is currently ranked #6 in the division, while ‘New Mansa’ is #9. This means a loss will lead to him sliding down the rankings. Not to mention fans will say he is washed up and not really up to competing with the young and hungry guys, or even the older guys who are still fighting at championship level.

The matchup thankfully is favorable towards ‘Chaos’. After all, Buckley is a striker and doesn’t have the ground game to match Covington’s world-class wrestling. If ‘Chaos’ can take him down, or put him against the cage early, he could tire Buckley out. But, can he? Well, we’ll find out this weekend. What do you think about Colby Covington’s revelations about his accommodation status ahead of UFC Tampa?