Former UFC interim welterweight champion Colby Covington explained his recent decision to announce his retirement from mixed martial arts.
The MMA world was surprised last week when Covington’s name was among the latest list of UFC roster removals. Even though he hasn’t been very active in recent years, he’s still a big name and someone that other welterweights (and middleweights) have called out to fight. So it was a big surprise when it was revealed that Covington was removed from the UFC roster.
Soon after his name appeared on the list of UFC cuts, we found out that Covington actually retired from the sport. But why?
Colby Covington Explains Why He Retired From the UFC
Speaking on “The Ariel Helwani Show,” Covington was asked why he retired from the UFC, and he explained his thought process about his decision to hang up his gloves.
According to Covington, he just wants to focus his attention on RAF (Real American Freestyle) wrestling, where he already has a 2-0 record with wins over Luke Rockhold and Dillon Danis, with a match against UFC Hall of Famer Chris Weidman coming up this weekend. After speaking with UFC CBO Hunter Campbell, Covington decided that it was best to retire from the UFC so he wasn’t blocked from participating in any potential wrestling matches in the RAF.
“I had a good meeting with Hunter and we just talked about the future and we talked about everything that’s been done and all the business we’ve done. It was a productive meeting and I just said I’m thankful for everything the UFC has allowed me to be able to do in my life… This was just the proverbial red tape that needed to be done to be able to clear up the biggest and best matches in RAF, so there’s no limitations to who I can wrestle… It was just a formality,” Covington said (via Bloody Elbow).
Will Colby Covington Ever Return to MMA?
During the interview, Covington was also asked if he plans on competing again in MMA. According to “Chaos,” he’s up in the air about ever fighting again, labeling it as a “50/50” chance. If he does fight again, it will be in the UFC, as he said his retirement didn’t mean his UFC contract went away. He is still technically under UFC contract, he said, so if he ever fights in MMA again, it will be for them.
That pretty much eliminates any chance of Covington fighting for MVP MMA or any other mixed martial arts promotion, unless, of course, the UFC releases him from his contract, but why would they? There is no real incentive for the UFC to do that, so don’t expect that to happen anytime soon.
Ultimately, Covington’s MMA career is over — for now, at least — but he will continue to stay active in combat sports with RAF, where he’s chasing after the big names to wrestle. And who knows, maybe one day he will return to the Octagon and fight one last time. Don’t count on it, though.
Colby Covington Explains Why He Retired From the UFC