Colby Covington

Covington returned to face Robbie Lawler in the main event of UFC on ESPN 5 on August 3, 2019. He won the fight via a lopsided unanimous decision, setting a record for the most strikes thrown in a UFC bout with 541 strikes.

Covington faced Kamaru Usman for the UFC Welterweight Championship on December 14, 2019 at UFC 245. He lost the fight via fifth round technical knockout. This fight earned him his first post fight bonus in the UFC for Fight of the Night .

Covington further embraced his villain status before his 2019 main event encounter with Robbie Lawler at UFC on ESPN 5. He used the WWE entrance theme of Kurt Angle—which, throughout Angle's career as both a wrestler and authority figure, has been regularly punctuated with crowd chants of "You suck!"—as his entrance music. With two of Trump's sons, Donald Jr. and Eric cageside for the fight, the crowd performed the "You suck!" chants during Covington's entrance.

Covington fought Rafael dos Anjos on June 9, 2018 at UFC 225 for the Interim UFC Welterweight Championship. He won the fight via unanimous decision.

Covington was briefly linked to a title unification bout with the then 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.

In February 2018, Covington appeared at a WrestlePro event and defeated TyQuil Woodley, a parody character of Tyron Woodley, in a match.

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.

Covington faced Dong Hyun Kim on June 17, 2017 at UFC Fight Night 111. He won the fight via unanimous decision.

As the final fight of his prevailing contract, Covington fought Demian Maia on October 28, 2017 at UFC Fight Night 119. He won the fight via unanimous decision.

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.

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 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 made his promotional debut against Anying Wang on August 23, 2014 at UFC Fight Night 48. He won the fight by TKO 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 graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Sociology in 2011.

In 2011, American Top Team owner Dan Lambert was looking to boost his gym's wrestling training and Covington was recruited to help do so. Shortly after, Covington began pursuing a professional mixed martial arts (MMA) career and moved to South Florida to train full-time at American Top Team. He compiled a record of 5–0 before signing with the UFC in the summer of 2014.

During his time at OSU, Covington qualified for the NCAA Tournament as a junior and as a senior, placing fifth as a senior and earning All-American honors. He also was a two-time Pac-10 Conference champion at 174-pounds. He was cited for fourth-degree assault stemming from an incident on May 23, 2010 wherein he was accused of punching two men after a verbal altercation. The Benton County District Attorney's Office did not pursue charges against Covington over the incident.

Following his championship season at Iowa Central, Covington transferred to the noted wrestling program at the University of Iowa. On August 10, 2007, he was arrested for eluding police and driving under the influence, having registered a BAC of 0.255, over three times the legal limit of 0.08. He later said, "That was a real all-time low in my life, something I really wish I could take back." Due to his arrest, Covington was suspended from the Hawkeyes for a year, and saw limited time the next season. He looked for a fresh start, and former Hawkeyes coach Jim Zalesky convinced Covington to transfer to Oregon State University.

Colby Ray Covington (/ˈ k ʌ v ɪ ŋ t ən / KUV -ing-tən; born February 22, 1988) is an American mixed martial artist. He is a former interim UFC Welterweight Champion. As of December 14, 2019, he is #2 in the UFC welterweight rankings.

Covington was born in Clovis, California on February 22, 1988. His parents are Noelle and Brad Covington, and he has two sisters named Candace and Callie. The family moved from California to Oregon when he was eight years old. His father was a wrestler during his time at the Oregon Institute of Technology and Southern Oregon University.