Fed up with how he’s being treated, Colby Covington has lashed out at the UFC.
‘Chaos’ is a long-term servant of the mixed martial arts, spending almost 12 years competing inside the octagon, and a further two years on the regional scene. During his time with the UFC, the 38-year-old has been known as a company man, one who would never speak a bad word about his employers and would always put the promotion first, until now.
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Colby Covington has grown tired of his role as a fighter in recent years. As he approaches the latter stages of his career, Covington has decided to air his true feelings about the UFC and its ongoing wrongdoings regarding his ventures outside the sport.
“They just have me sitting around for the last 14 months doing nothing, twiddling my thumbs,” Covington said of his position within the UFC. “They haven’t offered me one f***ing fight. Like, they’re supposed to be offering me three fights a year by contractual law. So, you know, I’m not trying to get into a suing match or pissing match, but it’s just not fair to me, you know?”
“Like, they’re not giving me an opportunity to earn. It’s sh*tty because it’s like, dude, not only are you not giving me a chance to earn, you’re not letting me earn anywhere else.”
Covington later revealed that the UFC had stopped him from competing against Arman Tsarukyan in Real American Freestyle wrestling.
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RAF has seen a surge of support from fans following its entertaining matchmaking with well-known athletes. Covington dominated Luke Rockhold, then used his time on the mic to tempt Georges St-Pierre out of retirement.
Arman Tsarukyan raised the profile of the wrestling promotion significantly when he had a post-fight brawl with social media presence Georgio Poullas at RAF 6. A huge matchup between Tsarukyan and Covington was allegedly planned following the event, but the UFC was reportedly quick to stop it.
“We’re treated as independent contractors, but they’re treating me like an employee right now,” Covington continued. “I tried to go wrestle and do a jiu-jitsu match against Arman [Tsarukyan], they said, ‘No. No active UFC guys are allowed to compete against each other outside the UFC.’ So, I’m like, ‘What? How does that make sense? We’re independent contractors, but you’re treating me like an employee. You’re saying that, if I wash this house, I can’t go wash another house to make money.”
“They’re treating me unfairly, and I’m just, I’m sick of it, man. They’ve done me dirty my whole career. They stole my interim title from me because I wouldn’t turn around on four weeks’ notice. It cost me pay-per-view points. That would have been the biggest payday of my career, and they cost me that because I didn’t want to turn around on four weeks’ notice when I had a nasal surgery planned, and I just got in a five-round fight for a world title. Like, why would I turn around on four weeks’ notice?”
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“Every step of the way, I’ve been treated like sh*t, and I’ve tried to play the company role, but you know, I’m just over it, man. It’s just frustrating, and you know, there’s nothing we can do about it… Even after everything I’ve done for them, dude. I’ve been sitting on the sidelines for 14 months, idle. Haven’t had an opportunity to make money. And you only make money in the UFC when you fight. So, they haven’t given me an opportunity to earn. All I wanted to do is go to RAF and do a wrestling match against Arman… It’s the biggest matchup we could put in RAF, and the UFC shut it down.”
