Colby Covington is not competing at UFC White House, and he’s pretty bummed about it.
This past weekend, the UFC finally announced the fight card for its highly anticipated White House card this June, and despite campaigning heavily for inclusion, Covington was noticeably absent from the card.
“I really wanted the fight,” Covington told MMA Junkie. “I was campaigning with the UFC. I thought they were holding me out for that fight specifically, but they couldn’t find anybody to fight me at that event. I asked for multiple names. I left it in their court many times and said, ‘Hunter [Campbell], I’ll fight any man alive. I’d prefer to fight at 170 on a full camp, but if it’s on a short-notice fight, I’ll fight at middleweight.’ If it’s going to be a full camp like this, then I need to fight at my natural weight class. They didn’t have anybody.
“The only person they’ve offered me is the winner of (Mike) Malott vs. (Gilbert) Burns (at UFC Winnipeg). I accepted. I said, ‘OK, I’ll wait until the end of the year to fight if that’s what you guys want and is in your plans. It’s your company, UFC, it’s your company, Hunter Campbell. Whatever you want. I listen to you. I’m the company man. You’re the face that runs the place, Hunter. You make these decisions. If you don’t think I’m worthy of the White House card, then so be it. That’s your call.’ I’ve accepted everything that they’ve given to me.”
The former interim welterweight champion was viewed by many as a certainty to make the exclusive event, given his close ties to President Donald Trump. Covington was one of the first MMA fighters to openly embrace Trump’s political movement, and he frequently refers to himself as Trump’s favorite fighter. So, to not fight on the only fight card on the White House lawn was a tough outcome for Covington.
“I wouldn’t say bothered but more bummed,” Covington said. “Just a little bummed. I thought that I was a shoo-in for that spot. I’m the one that brought Trump into UFC back in 2018 when no one was supporting him. There wasn’t an athlete alive that was walking around Times Square supporting him like I was, wearing the MAGA hat in Times Square with my belt and going to media tours. … I thought I was going to get that call to represent the U.S. and get on that White House card. Unfortunately it wasn’t in their cards. Hunter didn’t give me the opportunity, the UFC didn’t give me the opportunity.
“I wasn’t going to go to Trump. Everyone was like, ‘You should’ve gone to Trump and should’ve asked him for a favor.’ Man, he’s got way more important things to worry about. We’ve got to keep world peace right now. We don’t want to see a World War. I’m not going to bother him with, ‘Oh, Mr. President, can you make sure that I get on the White House fight. Can you call Hunter and Ari Emanuel and make sure?’ No. I’m not a selfish, greedy person. I care more about my country than I care about myself. It’s unfortunate. For sure, I’m bummed. But just like anything in life, it goes on, and you keep moving and working hard and stay focused on.”
Instead of Covington, UFC White House will be headlined by a lightweight title unification bout between Ilia Topuria and Justin Gaethje, and also feature an interim heavyweight title fight between Alex Pereira and Ciryl Gane. Neither are fights that fans were expecting, and with his own absence from the card, Covington isn’t particularly impressed with the event the UFC ultimately put together.
”It’s piss-poor at best,” Covington said. “I think the fans have said it. The fans have spoken. The fans have said they hate it, it’s a terrible card. They promised six or seven title fights. Now they have one title fight and an interim title fight they put together last minute. The thing was just so disorganized. There wasn’t any big, high-ranking American fighters.
”They have Michael Chandler, who is 40 years old, and then Sean O’Malley, who is a great fighter, love Sean, but besides that, who is the guys representing America on the 250th birthday of America? Doesn’t seem like there’s that guy there. It just seems like they don’t care anymore. They made all that money with Paramount, and they’re just happy. It is what it is. The fans have spoken. It’s unfortunate.”
UFC White House takes place on June 14 in Washington, D.C.
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SOCIAL MEDIA BOUILLABAISSE
Here are some things that happened at Hype Brazil.
Man, Conor is not fighting this summer, lol.
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Hype Brazil was so stupid, and so fun. I hope y’all watched.
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