Colby “Chaos” Covington, former UFC interim welterweight champion and one of the promotion’s most brash and controversial fighters, has officially retired. The official UFC website lists him as retired, and Covington reportedly notified MMA Fighting to confirm his retirement.
In addition to Covington, the UFC has also removed Mayra Bueno Silva and Brad Riddell from the roster.
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Colby Covington Getty Images
Colby Covington
Covington’s last UFC outing was in December 2024, when he lost via TKO to Joaquin Buckley in the third round of their main event fight in Tampa, Florida. He retires with a 12-5 record in the UFC Octagon, with wins over the likes of Jorge Masvidal and Tyron Woodley, and an iconic rivalry against Kamaru Usman despite losing both fights.
His retirement was also announced by the UFC’s broadcast partner, Paramount+, on social media:
Covington built his career around a loud, pro-Donald Trump persona. Towards the end of his UFC tenure, however, Covington started to distance himself from politics altogether and expressed his new opinions on The Ariel Helwani Show (via Jed I. Goodman on X):
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The now-retired welterweight has been active in Real American Freestyle (RAF), which is a professional freestyle wrestling promotion founded by the late Hulk Hogan. In that promotion, “Chaos” holds wins over Luke Rockhold and Dillon Danis, and will be facing fellow UFC fighter Chris Weidman on May 30 (Real American Freestyle on X):
Mayra Bueno Silva
Bueno Silva, who fought at flyweight and bantamweight, was also listed as “not fighting” according to her official UFC athlete profile on the official website. She has failed to secure a win in her last six fights, including a failed bantamweight title fight against Raquel Pennington.
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She also had a no-contest against Holly Holm after testing positive for Ritalinic acid, a banned substance which is found in ADHD medications
Her most recent fight resulted in a decision loss to Michelle Montague in April. After her loss, but before she was removed from the roster, she addressed her haters on social media:
In the video, Bueno Silva addresses fans who want her to retire and jokingly responds, “If I end up an Uber driver, I’ll be the best Uber driver in Brazil.”
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It’s not clear what her current plans are now that she is officially off the roster, though she may likely continue to fight in other promotions such as the PFL or Jake Paul’s MVP MMA.
Brad Riddell
Riddell has been inactive since 2022 and is currently on a three-fight losing streak. He was originally scheduled to return in 2024 to face Thiago Moises but withdrew from the fight for undisclosed reasons.
He has recently been active in promoting martial arts courses and selling equipment and merchandise through his website, Student of the Fight Game.
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He has also collaborated with Nathan Epps, MMA striking coordinator at the UFC Performance Institute in Shanghai, China, and owner of the YouTube channel Pro Striking:
Riddell is currently a coach at Bangtao Muay Thai & MMA in Thailand. All of these different activities could signal his transition to a full-time coaching role.
At 34 years old, however, MMA and kickboxing competition may still be on the table.
This story was originally published by Athlon Sports on May 19, 2026, where it first appeared in the MMA section. Add Athlon Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
