Colby Covington blasts UFC for ‘Treating him like sh*t’ as Bo Nickal floats White House Showdown. Former interim UFC welterweight champion Colby Covington has publicly voiced frustration with the promotion, claiming he is being treated unfairly after being left off the highly anticipated UFC White House event.
Covington, one of the UFC’s most outspoken personalities, said he feels disrespected by the organization after being unable to secure a fight despite actively campaigning to appear on the historic card. According to the veteran welterweight, the UFC has kept him inactive for more than a year and has not provided meaningful fight opportunities.
Covington elaborated on his complaints in an interview with Submission Radio, revealing the UFC matchmakers have other plans for him, including a potential fight with one of the April 18 UFC Winnipeg headliners, Mike Malott or Gilbert Burns.
“I really wanted it,” Covington said. “I asked for anybody. I said I’d fight anybody on God’s green earth on the White House card just to get that opportunity to fight in front of my hero, Donald Trump, and all the great politicians that I’m friends with up in D.C. It’s just unfortunate, but I don’t make the decisions, that’s up to UFC, that’s up to Hunter Campbell, they said they didn’t need my services. “They said they only wanted me to fight the winner of Malott and Burns, so I respectfully agreed to that like I agree to every fight they’ve ever offered me. It’s just unfortunate, but like the saying goes, life goes on.”
“They’ve just had me sitting around for the last 14 months doing nothing, twiddling my thumbs,” Covington said. “They haven’t offered me one f*cking fight. They’re supposed to be offering me three fights a year by contractual law, so I’m not trying to get into a suing match or a pissing match, but it’s just not fair to me, you know? They’re not giving me an opportunity to earn and it’s shitty because not only are you not giving me a chance to earn, you’re not letting me earn anywhere else.
“We’re treated as independent contractors, but they’re treating me like an employee right now because I tried to go wrestle and do a jiu-jitsu match against Arman [Tsarukyan] and they sad, ‘No. No active UFC guys are allowed to compete against each other outside the UFC.’ So I said, ‘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 sick of it.”
As it stands, Covington accepts his situation, even as he joins the growing list of notable fighters criticizing the UFC’s current business model. “Every step of the way I’ve been treated like shit,” Covington said. “I’ve tried to play the company role, but I’m just over it. It’s just frustrating and there’s nothing we can do about it. You’ve got to just keep on trucking.” “I just think that the UFC has checked out,” he later added. “They got the $8 billion from Paramount. They don’t care about putting on the most best, exciting fights. They’re getting guaranteed money, so they’d rather stick a guy out there that’s making 10 and 10 then stick a guy out there like me who makes big money, so that’s just what it is.”
While Covington continues to criticize the situation, another UFC fighter has suggested that the door may not be completely closed. Rising middleweight contender Bo Nickal recently indicated that a fight between him and Covington could still happen at the White House event. Nickal, who is reportedly scheduled to face Kyle Daukaus, revealed that he has not yet signed the contract for that bout and would be willing to replace the matchup with a fight against Covington instead.
Whether Covington ultimately finds his way onto the card remains uncertain, but the controversy has already added another layer of intrigue to what is shaping up to be one of the most unusual events in UFC history.
