Colby Covington ( KUV-ing-t?n; born February 22, 1988) is an American professional mixed martial artist who competes in the welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is the current Interim UFC Welterweight Champion.
Video Colby Covington
Early life
Covington was born in Clovis, California and moved with his family to Springfield, Oregon at the age of 11. Covington wrestled at Thurston High School in Oregon, lettering all four years and winning the 171 lb state championship as a senior. Covington went to Iowa Central Community College where he won the 165 lb national junior college wrestling title as a true freshman. His roommate, at the time, was future UFC champion Jon Jones. In 2007, Covington was arrested for drunk driving and was suspended from the Iowa wrestling program. Following this, he returned to Oregon and enrolled at Oregon State University where he became a collegiate wrestling All-American and two-time Pac-10 Conference champion. He graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Sociology in 2011.
Maps Colby Covington
Mixed martial arts career
Early career
In 2011, American Top Team owner Dan Lambert was looking to boost his gym's wrestling training and Covington was one of a few people Lambert recruited to help do so. Shortly after, Covington began pursuing a professional mixed martial arts (MMA) career and moved to South Florida to train at American Top Team. He turned professional in 2012, compiling a record of 5-0 before signing with the UFC in the summer of 2014.
Ultimate Fighting Championship (2014-present)
Covington made his promotional debut against Anying Wang on August 23, 2014 at UFC Fight Night 48. He won the fight by KO via punches in the closing seconds of the first round.
Covington fought Wagner Silva on November 8, 2014 at UFC Fight Night 56. He won the fight via submission in the third round.
Covington next faced Mike Pyle on May 23, 2015 at UFC 187, replacing an injured Sean Spencer. He won the fight via unanimous decision.
Covington faced Warlley Alves on December 12, 2015 at UFC 194. He lost the fight via submission in the first round.
Covington was expected to compete against Alex Garcia on June 18, 2016 at UFC Fight Night 89. However, Garcia was pulled from the fight on June 10 for undisclosed reasons and replaced by promotional newcomer Jonathan Meunier. Covington won the fight via submission in the third round.
Covington next faced promotional newcomer Max Griffin on August 20, 2016 at UFC 202. He won the fight via TKO in the third round.
Covington's next bout was against Bryan Barberena on December 17, 2016 at UFC on Fox 22. He won the fight via unanimous decision.
Covington faced Dong Hyun Kim on June 17, 2017 at UFC Fight Night 111. He won the fight via unanimous decision.
Covington fought Demian Maia on October 28, 2017 at UFC Fight Night 119. He won the fight via unanimous decision.
Covington fought Rafael dos Anjos on June 9, 2018 at UFC 225 for the Interim UFC Welterweight Championship. He won the fight by unanimous decision.
Covington was briefly linked to a title unification bout with the current champion Tyron Woodley on September 8, 2018 at UFC 228. However, Covington was unable to compete on that date due to recent nasal surgery. As a result, UFC officials turned their attention to arranging a bout between Woodley and Darren Till to fill the headlining spot. In turn, promotional officials indicated on July 24 that Covington would be stripped of the Interim UFC Welterweight Championship, once the bout between Woodley and Till took place. As of September 12 however, Covington remains listed as the Interim UFC Welterweight Champion.
Mixed martial arts fighting style
Covington's base in MMA is his wrestling. Most of his victories in the UFC have come when he was able to consistently take his opponents down and control them on the ground. He is also known for pushing the pace of a fight, relying heavily on his cardio to put constant pressure on his opponents.
Professional wrestling career
Impact Wrestling (2017)
Covington, along with other American Top Team members, made multiple appearances in Impact Wrestling, where they aligned themselves with Lashley and King Mo. In 2017, they defeated the team of Moose and Stephan Bonnar at Bound for Glory. In the buildup to the event, he hired Stevie Richards to be his strength and conditioning coach.
WrestlePro (2018)
In February 2018, Covington appeared at a WrestlePro event and defeated TyQuil Woodley, a parody character of Tyron Woodley, in a match.
Public image
Covington has described himself as the "super villain" of the UFC and will often try to upset people with brazen trash talking. Following his bout with Demian Maia, he called Brazil a "dump" and referred to the Brazilian crowd as "filthy animals" in the post-fight interview.
Covington has also perturbed people with his use of social media where he would commonly insult fans, media members and other UFC fighters. He also posted spoilers for a number of wide-released movies before they opened which drew some backlash as well.
Covington has publicly stated he supports U.S. President Donald Trump. After winning the Interim UFC Welterweight Championship, he stated he wanted to visit Trump at the White House to present him with the title, which he did on August 2, 2018.
Championships and accomplishments
Amateur wrestling
- FILA
- FILA 77 kg No-Gi Grappling World Championship (2013)
- National Collegiate Athletic Association
- NCAA Division I All-American out of Oregon State University (2011)
- Pac-10 174 lb Conference Championship out of Oregon State University (2010, 2011)
- National Junior College Athletic Association
- NJCAA 165 lb National Championship out of Iowa Central Community College (2007)
- NJCAA All-American out of Iowa Central Community College (2007)
- Oregon State Activities Association
- OSAA 171 lb State Championship out of Thurston High School (2006)
Mixed martial arts
- Ultimate Fighting Championship
- Interim UFC Welterweight Championship (One time)
Mixed martial arts record
See also
- List of current UFC fighters
- List of male mixed martial artists
References
External links
- Official UFC Profile
- Professional MMA record for Colby Covington from Sherdog
Source of article : Wikipedia
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