There is no shaking the personal belief of Colby Covington.
The former interim UFC welterweight champion and perennial 170-pound contender has been forged by pushing his own personal limits inside and outside of the Octagon. His latest test has been being on the sidelines for over a year-and-a-half while plenty of changes happened at the top of the division.
Order UFC 296: Edwards vs Covington
“This sitting out bulls**t has been tough because I’ve wanted to fight,” Covington told UFC.com. “Every fight I’ve accepted. Against Khamzat Chimaev, Dustin Poirier, and some other guys in the division that the UFC were trying to match up, but they didn’t want to fight. It just made me hungrier and it made me realize how much I love this sport. I don’t feel alive until I’m in that UFC Octagon. That’s when I feel the most alive in my life and I feel like that’s the true meaning.”

Part of the reason for Covington’s inactivity is due to the pair of fights between Edwards and former champion Kamaru Usman that took place over the last year and change.
Covington’s convincing win over Jorge Masivdal at UFC 272 moved him into position to be next for a shot at the welterweight belt, but Edwards’ incredible head kick knockout win over Usman altered the timeline for Covington’s title shot chances. Edwards’ victory at UFC 278 rightfully sent shockwaves through the mixed martial arts community – and it even surprised Covington. For the first time in over three-and-a-half years, Usman was not the champion of the welterweight division.
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“My initial reaction was shock. I didn’t expect it to go like that, but I also realize that this is a sport like football, where you can land a Hail Mary, and that’s what happened,” Covington said. “He was losing the whole fight and in the last minute he landed his Hail Mary kick and it landed in the right spot. Usman made the wrong read and took his foot off the gas, and he paid the price.”
Furthermore, Covington is positive that Edwards’ knockout win to become champion was also partially in result to the damage caused to Usman by Covington at UFC 245 and UFC 268.

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“No doubt about it, I took the fight out of Usman,” Covington said. “His chin was never the same and I’m the one that loosened up that chin. I head kicked him and had him on wobbly legs, then he calls timeout. It’s not like Leon did something that I hadn’t already done.”
Usman was granted an immediate rematch versus Edwards at UFC 286 in March.
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For that fight, Covington was selected as the backup fighter should anything happen to either Usman or Edwards. Covington made weight and was prepared to fight but the bout carried on as scheduled, with Edwards winning a unanimous decision to defend his title.
Covington wasn’t very impressed with either fighter's performance at UFC 286, but he could tell that Usman simply wasn’t the same fighter he had faced twice before.

“You can tell [Usman] was just hesitant, and that knockout really affected him,” Covington said. “I don’t know, I’ve never been knocked unconscious like that, laying in that Octagon. I don’t know what that feels like and being trigger shy. All I know is one pace and that’s go forward and show the world who the cardio king is.”
Behind all the trash talk, the truth is that Covington has been truly elite over the course of nine-year-plus UFC career. Covington is 12-3 in the UFC, with his only defeats coming in title fights versus Usman and a loss early in his UFC career to Warlley Alves.
His road to title contention featured a seven-fight win streak that took him around the world and back. Covington showed out with dominant wins over a Canadian in Canada, a South Korean in Asia, and a Brazilian in Brazil.
Traveling to fight opponents in their own backyards and to climb the rankings in tough stylistic matchups shaped Covington into a different breed. He credits those moments for building his mental fortitude and helping him be prepared for anything that any environment can throw at him.

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That’s one thing that he believes separates him from Edwards, who Covington believes either was hand fed easy matchups or was able to be inactive until the most advantageous situations came together.
“He had the right matchups at the right time to get to that point in his career,” Covington said. “He fought a lightweight washout in Nate Diaz and sat out almost two years to get his title shot. I don’t think he warranted getting a title shot after beating that guy.”
View The Entire UFC 296: Edwards vs Covington Card
“He just cried, ‘I deserve this, I deserve that’, instead of just going out there and working for it or earning it like I did. I had to earn it the hard way. No one gave me this spot to fight for the undisputed title. I had to earn it. I had to go the unconventional way because the straight-ahead way wasn’t available. He didn’t earn it the hard way like I did, and December 16th he’s going to find out that he’s going to get broken by the American dream.”
Despite Edwards’ two wins over Usman and his 12-fight unbeaten streak, Covington sees nothing special from the welterweight champion. He isn’t underestimating what “Rocky” can do or what he’s accomplished, he just has unwavering confidence that he’s going to put together a statement performance at UFC 296 and claim the undisputed title.
And when he does, that moment will go exactly as planned.
“You’re not going to see me crying or freaking out like I didn’t expect to do it,” Covington said. “I’m prepared and I know that I am the best fighter on planet Earth at welterweight in the UFC right now. It’s going to be like I expected it.
“This is not about the destination; it’s about the journey to me. I’ve had a great journey and I’ve developed a lot. No one has seen what I’ve been doing and how hard I’ve been working every single day with the blood, sweat, and tears I’ve put in. December 16th, the world is in for a rude awakening. All my haters are going to be so salty.”
UFC 296: Edwards vs Covington took place live from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on December 16, 2023. See the Final Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC Fight Pass!