Ahead of his fight against Colby Covington, Joaquin Buckley claimed that he would not only defeat the fighter but also send ‘Chaos’ into retirement. Well, ‘New Mansa’ seems to have fulfilled one part of this promise by defeating Covington via a doctor’s stoppage at UFC Tampa four minutes into the third round. Now, the ball is in Covington’s court to decide on his MMA future.

After all, ‘Chaos’ is 36 years old and will turn 37 in February. With this loss, he is all but out of the title scene and would need to win several fights in a row. So it remains to be seen whether he would want to continue competing. So maybe Buckley is right and, with a win, might have sent Covington into retirement. Even if ‘Chaos’ decides not to retire, UFC head honcho might start pushing him toward that decision. Why do we say so? Well, here’s why it would be the wrong move for the 17-5-0 from Florida to not retire after the Joaquin Buckley fight.

Colby Covington is on a serious downfall

Colby Covington’s return to the octagon was just as disappointing as last December. Covington, who has only competed five times in the last four years, will move even further away from the top 5 at Welterweight after falling out of distance with Joaquin Buckley in the main event of UFC Tampa. Covington remained slightly more active than in his loss to Leon Edwards, but he did not have a good time during exchanges with the explosive Buckley, who caused a cut in the first round that would define the outcome of the fight.

Besides landing the hardest punches, Buckley defended seven of the eight takedowns attempted by the former interim champion, most of them rudely swatted away. Despite the severity of the cut and the blood emanating, Colby Covington tried to stay in the fight. However, the doctor at the foot of the octagon recommended Dan Miragliotta to end the fight. Covington, sixth in the ranking, continues to sink. The controversial 36-year-old fighter is now 2-6 in his last six fights.

With such a disappointing run, the quote “It’s better to leave than to be replaced” seems like the perfect fit for ‘Chaos.’ Tony Ferguson has earned himself a notorious reputation for being a fighter who is fighting way past his prime. If Covington continues to do so, he will be hanging up his gloves without being anywhere near the top 10 rankings in his division.

Colby Covington is becoming less of a fan favorite with controversial takes

Colby Covington is a mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter who has stood out for his controversial style and for being one of the most polarizing fighters in this sport. From being US President Donald Trump’s biggest fanboy to spoiling the ending of Avengers: Infinity War, Covington has done it all in his career to make sure that he remains the biggest villain in the UFC. However, there have often been times when he has crossed certain limits that have earned him a major target on his back. One such incident was when he talked about Leon Edwards’ late father ahead of their fight. To make matters worse, he further stated that he did not feel apologetic for what he said.

Being one of the biggest opposers of the Black Lives Matter movement didn’t help his case, either. Calling it “a complete sham,” he brewed further controversy after taking racist jibes at Kamaru Usman in the post-fight interview after defeating Tyron Woodley, a supporter of the BLM movement.

‘Chaos’ said, “Who did you get a call from? You get a call from freakin’, your little tribe? They give you some smoke signals for you?” Then, in December, he made Islamophobic comments against Belal Muhammad. He claimed that the Palestinian-American fighter pulled out of his bout because of a pager exploding on his foot, a reference to the incidents involving exploding pagers connected to Hezbollah.

Even at UFC Tampa, he came into the Amalie Arena wearing a Donald Trump necklace, which he then kissed for good luck. With stunts like these, it is no wonder that Covington is losing out on all the fan support that he once had. Something that leads to our third and final point.

Colby Covington is no longer a major draw in Dana White’s books

Ever since he reached his pinnacle of fame, Colby Covington has been one of the headliners for major PPV events in the Dana White-led promotion. However, his continuous losses have now given the UFC head honcho something to think about. As we said earlier, Colby Covington is losing all the fan support he once had; he is no longer a fighter that fans rush to see fight inside the Octagon.

Adding to that the dismal streak of losses he accumulated against the likes of Kamaru Usman, Leon Edwards, and Joaquin Buckley, it is evident for all to see that ‘Chaos’ is no longer the fighter that he once was. In his latest Fight Night defeat, Covington looked destined for a loss on the judge’s scorecards. So having such a fighter on the PPV main cards would be problematic for Dana White if he wishes to keep on breaking the records of UFC gates like in 2024. So now, it seems like it is upon Dana White to convince ‘Chaos’ that his time might finally be up. What do you think? Should Covington retire? Let us know in the comments.