Colby Covington is content with a quiet exit from mixed martial arts’ biggest stage.
The former interim UFC welterweight champion entered this year having not fought since a one-sided loss to Joaquin Buckley in December 2024.
That will ultimately go down as his last fight inside the Octagon, after Covington opted to retire from MMA having had his wish to compete at the upcoming UFC event at the White House denied.
Many departing fighters are honored by the promotion in the form of special video packages at events, but ‘Chaos’ requires no such goodbye from his longtime employer.
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Why Colby Covington does not want a UFC video package after his retirement
Covington described his retirement discussion with the UFC’s Hunter Campbell as “just a formality,” saying it has allowed him to lose any and all restrictions when it comes to who he can face in Real American Freestyle.
The American has already beaten Luke Rockhold and Dillon Danis in the new wrestling organization. Next, Covington will battle Chris Weidman at RAF 09 this Saturday.
It’s clear his eyes are on RAF moving forward, and he has no interest in briefly turning them back to the UFC for some sort of retirement send-off at an upcoming event.
“I don’t have an ego. They don’t need to appease my ego,” Covington said during a recent appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show.
“A lot of these fighters, they want to feel important, they want to feel special. Like, ‘Oh, care about me,’ this and that.
“I know I’m loved, I know I’m cared for by the UFC,” he continued. “I don’t need some crazy (video) package to feel appreciated. I know I’m appreciated. I don’t need the send-off.”
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Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
Covington will compete in the co-main event of RAF 09 at the College Park Center of University of Texas in Arlington.
The main event will see the Real American Freestyle debut of Gable Steveson, a man at the opposite stage of his UFC career compared to Covington
While ‘Chaos’ has retired, the 2020 Olympic gold medalist is fast approaching his very first fight inside the Octagon. Steveson will arrive at UFC 329, competing on the undercard of Conor McGregor’s…
2026-05-29 03:00:00
