UFC 272’s Colby Covington on Persona: “I Created Something Bigger Than Life.”

Las Vegas, NV — The change in Colby Covington’s persona, from a somewhat overlooked wrestler to a brash, Trump-supporting, pro wrestling heel-style personality, came right around the time of UFC Singapore in 2018.

Ahead of UFC 272, Covington took umbrage with the idea that American Top Team head coach Dan Lambert, a noted pro wrestling aficionado, was behind his current character arc.

“I decided to make that decision on my own. After Singapore — [Dan Lambert] never told me going into my fight with Demian Maia that I needed to do something or change something because the UFC was going to cut me,” Covington stated during the UFC 272 media day on Wednesday. “They said no matter what, going into that fight, they told Dan behind closed doors ‘hey we have no use for Colby, he’s not entertaining, he doesn’t draw ticket, so no matter what he does in the fight with Demian Maia, we’re not going to re-sign him.'”

“Dan never told me that. He didn’t tell me until after the fight,” Covington insisted. “But I went out there and took my destiny in my own hands, and I created something bigger than life.”

Covington has since moved on from Lambert and ATT. His larger-than-life personality is currently embroiled in a grudge match with former teammate Jorge Masvidal, which headlines the UFC 272 Pay-Per-View card. It’s a fight big enough, at least in the UFC’s opinion, to top a numbered event in the absence of a title — something that hasn’t happened since last year’s Poirier vs. McGregor 3.

The match-up with Masvidal isn’t about the numbers to Covington, however. “This is just a personal rivalry. This isn’t about the money. I didn’t come here to fight for money. I took a pay cut,” he claimed Wednesday. “I didn’t care about the money for this fight. This is about settling a blood rivalry, this is a long time coming. This guy has been holding it off as long as he could, until he had no chance, no other opportunities. This is the biggest opportunity he can get to pay his alimony, to pay his child support, so of course he’s gotta come and take this losing paycheck.”

That sort of rhetoric has been a recent favorite of Covington when it comes to Jorge Masvidal — he’s a deadbeat dad, a bad husband, a thief, and a liar, if you take “Chaos” at face value.

And come Saturday night, Covington isn’t about to hold back in the cage either, even while the expectation is that he’ll put his emotions to the side. What he’ll enter the fight with, Covington told Cageside Press, are “a lot of violent intentions. I’m going to inflict a lot of pain on this guy. He’s talked recklessly, just a lot of lies and trying to make me look like the bad guy and trying to put himself in a positive light. I’m just going to inflict pain on him, I’m not going to think about all the emotions and all the energy and the past. I’m just going to think about the present and the moment and putting that guy in his death chair.”

Watch the full UFC 272 media day appearance from Colby Covington above. The event takes place this Saturday, March 5, 2022 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, NV. More coverage from the event can be found below.