UFC fight night on Saturday didn’t go exactly as Colby Covington planned.
Already an underdog in his fight against Joaquin Buckley, Covington was brutally cut above his red eye, resulting in a lot of blood and a TKO win for Buckley after a doctor’s stoppage.
Covington took the fight on short notice and was unable to get a full camp leading up to the fight.
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Colby Covington prepares to take on Joaquin Buckley in a welterweight bout during the UFC Fight Night event at Amalie Arena on December 14, 2024 in Tampa, Florida. (Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)
“It’s one fight, you know?” Covington said in one video on his YouTube channel. “And I’m more than just a fighter, you know? I let this fuel me. I get a full training camp. I came on short notice. This is for the company. This is for the fans.” This was not a full training camp.”
However, he says there was another reason why he lost.
Covington said he was too busy “campaigning” for President-elect Donald Trump, whom he has long been a supporter of.
“I campaigned for Trump, you know, to get him ready,” the fighter added. “I wasn’t even in the training room. I came off the bench with two and a half weeks’ notice. It’s a tough ending to go like that. I feel like I just got wind and I was going to to come out strong, but you know, it is what it is.”
Colby Covington slams Joaquin Buckley in a welterweight bout during the UFC Fight Night event at Amalie Arena on December 14, 2024 in Tampa, Florida. (Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)
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Covington also said in the video that the country will soon experience “the best four years in history.”
“God bless America, God bless the Trumps. We’re about to get the greatest president back in power. It’s going to be the best four years. I’m so excited. We’ll have world peace, closed borders, inflation. money I made tonight will now go further,” Covington said.
Covington once called Trump his own “greatest role model.” Trump has long been a fan of UFC and attended UFC 309 at Madison Square Garden shortly after winning the election, among many other events in recent months leading up to the election.
Colby Covington is seen on stage during the UFC 296 press conference at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on December 14, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
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The fighter wore a MAGA hat during a press conference ahead of UFC 296, which Trump also attended. Covington said Trump would give the welterweight championship belt to Covington if he won the fight, but Leon Edwards retained his title.
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