While Colby Covington is clearly putting on a show to get noticed, his skills are not something that can be overlooked following his five-round domination of Robbie Lawler at UFC Newark.
Newark, NJ — Love him or hate him, at some point, you’re going to have to accept that Colby Covington belongs at the top of the welterweight division. That was the story following UFC Newark, a throwaway card once planned as an overseas event. An afterthought, almost, relocated to Newark’s Prudential Center as UFC on ESPN 5. The timeslot already set for afternoon, due to the expected time difference that never materialized.
And so Colby Covington was taking on Robbie Lawler somewhere prior to 6PM in the East on Saturday. A Lawler that, throughout fight week, had looked pretty much like the Terminator. Unflappable. Little to no emotion. Just a wrecking machine.
Covington, however, shut that wrecking machine down. Not just with his persistent, domineering wrestling game, but by throwing a record number of strikes as well.
All that, on a limited camp, he told reporters including Cageside Press post-fight. “I feel good for taking the whole camp off. I had some adversity I had to face with a cut early in the training camp,” he revealed. “I didn’t get to do any sparring, any live wrestling, anything. It was just running all camp, and showing up on four week’s notice. Imagine if I could do this to Robbie Lawler, one of the greats of all time. Defended the belt four times. Fight of the years, fight of the evers. That’s what I just did to him. No one’s dominated him like that.”
Imagine, in other words, what he could do to someone else. Like champ Kamaru Usman, who he had a tense exchange with at the ESPN desk following the fight.
Then came the theatrics, of course. It started with a water bottle. “I know a lot of nerds around the world are probably spewing tears, so I brought the nerd tears bottle again.”
Asked about his stamina, Covington said “I’ve always known since I was a little kid I just have an extra lung. My will is unbeatable. There’s not a man alive who can keep up with that cardio.” From there it went to bedroom antics.
Yes, Colby Covington is playing a role. It’s wrestling heel 101. Whether you think he does it well is another matter. More often than not, he crosses a line, like he did with his Matt Hughes comment post-fight in the octagon. “Robbie should have learned a lesson from his buddy Matt Hughes. You stay off the tracks when the train is coming through,” he exclaimed. Hughes, who was hit by a train and nearly killed, will likely live with the effects of that accident for life. It was a tasteless line.
Covington, however, brushed off any criticism backstage. He even doubled down. “Did I say something that was offensive? The guy’s done some pretty crappy stuff. He’s got lawsuits against his family, against his brother,” said Covington. “I just said the truth. I’m honest. I’m a little bit brutally honest sometimes, and people can’t handle this. If people were worried about words but we go into an octagon to kill each other — don’t be so sensitive snowflakes.”
I don’t want the fans turning the channel to Real Housewives of OC. I want them tuning into me, and they don’t ever turn the channel when I’m on the marquee.
The closest you can get to understanding Colby Covington today is this: it’s a matter of getting noticed, in a sport where wrestlers are often overlooked. It’s akin, Cageside Press suggested to Covington post fight, to Bane in The Dark Knight Rises. “No one cared who I was until I put on the mask.” Isn’t it?
“A little bit,” Covington admitted. “But it’s just me being me. If I’m being authentic, I’m being real, and I’m being honest, if people are mad about my words than you shouldn’t come over to this sport,” he said. In his eyes, “this is what the sport is built on. That’s what it’s going to be continued to be built on, is selling fights, promoting fights, and making it fun for fans. And not just at the fights, year round, on social media. They get into that stuff. Whether they hate you or love you, you don’t want them in the middle. I don’t want the fans turning the channel to Real Housewives of OC. I want them tuning into me, and they don’t ever turn the channel when I’m on the marquee.”
In other words, get a reaction. Whether it be through name-dropping the President and his sons, or borrowing Kurt Angle’s theme song.
“It was amazing to have the first family front row. They gave me extra motivation,” he said of the Trump boys being in the house on Saturday. Plus, there was the congratulatory post-fight phone call from The Donald himself.
“Donald Trump, Mr. President. He tweeted out before the fight, and after the fight he gave me a call,” Covington claimed. As to what the Commander in Chief told him, “he just said he appreciates everything I’ve done, he wants me to come back to the White House to shake his hand again, and hang out in the Oval Office. He just appreciated how much I do, and the hard-working American [I am]. I haven’t been given anything. I’ve had to work and earn everything I have. I fight for everything. He appreciated that.”
Then came the line about the fight being a landslide, just like the 2020 election will be. There’s that character coming through again. But unlike Chael Sonnen, who came to be appreciated by most MMA fans, Covington seems to struggle with where the line is. For every smart remark he gets off, two fall flat. The Hughes comment was the worst Saturday, but he also got into a debate with one reporter about Trump’s military cutbacks.
His adoption of Kurt Angel’s theme song fell somewhere in-between. The crowd played along, mostly. It’s something he sought permission for from the Olympic gold medalist. “I would never walk out to Kurt Angle’s music unless he gave me his blessing. And that’s exactly what happened,” said Covington. “My good buddy Bobby Lashley went to Kurt Angle and said ‘hey can Colby use your walkout music for his fight?’ and he said ‘yeah it would be an honor if Colby would use my walkout music.’ That’s the only reason I used the music, I would never use it and step on his toes if he didn’t give me his blessing. So thank you to Kurt Angle, thank you to Bobby Lashley, and everybody over at the WWE.”
Lashely, of course, in addition to being a WWE star, is also a Strikeforce veteran, and Bellator MMA fighter, who trains alongside Covington at American Top Team.
“That’s probably going to be my walkout song going forward,” Covington told Cageside Press on Saturday. “That’s America, that’s what the fans want. They were entertained tonight, they love it. They were cheering on, I’ve never heard an arena that loud. Singing “YOU SUCK, YOU SUCK!” I talk the talk and I walk the walk.”
He kept talking, when mention was made of Jon Jones saying that Robbie Lawler “let the whole world down” in the loss.
“I think that’s hilarious. Johnny Jones lets the whole world down. He’s a continuous screw up,” commented Covington. “I’ve always tried to be a lending hand for him. I’m trying to help him out. I want him to learn from his mistakes. He keeps screwing up.”
With all the obvious correlations, would Covington try out a pro wrestling career some day? A couple years back, he appeared on Impact (ATT coach Dan Lambert also has some pro wresting experience).
Vince McMahon give me a call, you know where I’m at.
“Absolutely. That’s what I’m looking to go [to]. I’m looking to be the first two-sport world champion in history. To be a WWE and UFC champion would be a dream come true.” Presumably, he’s hoping to hold both belts at the same time. Otherwise, Brock Lesnar beat him to the punch.
“I did my little stint with Impact on TNT. I’m familiar with the ropes of pro wrestling, and it would be a dream come true to go to WWE and link back up with my teammate Bobby Lashley,” Covington continued. “He’s over there killing it, he’s probably going to go stranglehold Brock Lesnar soon, and we can get some good angles soon. Vince McMahon give me a call, you know where I’m at.”
If you’re tired of hearing Covington’s particular brand of self-promotion, he did manage to address the fight as well. For one, he wasn’t surprised at Lawler’s ability to get back up from his takedowns.
“No not at all. He’s got the highest takedown defense accuracy in the sport,” said ‘Chaos,’ but at the same time, “that’s just to pressure guys. Let them know I can take them down, let ’em right up, but I’m going to be right back in your face.” Besides, he pointed out, “you didn’t see me take one step backward tonight, and that’s the biggest power puncher in our division. You can imagine what I’m going to do when I have to fight Marty Fake Newsman [champ Kamaru Usman], a guy with pillow fists for hands.”
Once bitten, twice shy though, no? Covington has been burned before, with promised title shots slipping away, along with his interim title — which he still parades around with him.
“It’s the only fight to make. If they make any other fight, it’s a mockery to the sport, it’s a mockery to the rankings,” said Covington on Saturday. “If you hate Tom Brady, it doesn’t matter, if they win the AFC championship, they’re going to the SuperBowl.”
Hearing Covington use the term “mockery” might amuse some. But his skills, at this point, are no laughing matter. So whether or not he’s put on a mask to garner attention, whether or not he’s crossed the line — again and again — Covington very likely earned his title shot Saturday at UFC Newark. Really, this time.
