Colby Covington
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Colby Covington has been a professional MMA fighter for 14 years. He's spent the last 11 in the UFC. And in that time, he's become one of the most famous people in his sport worldwide. So how should you feel about Colby Covington? Well, if you can judge a man by his enemies, and you can, watch Rosie O'Donnell.

Trump just arrived at the UFC 296 cuz he loves Colby Covington and Leon Edwards, I hope is gonna smash his face in because I can't stand Colby Covington and I can't stand Donald Trump. And the one thing I hate about the UFC is that he ruins it every time he shows up. I mean, come on Dana White, you gotta do better. Really? Really?

The question is, would Rosie O'Donnell kill Colby Covington if she had the chance? The answer is, of course, yes, and she would do the same to you. We thought it'd be interesting to talk to Colby Covington about that and other things. He joins us now. Colby, thanks a lot for coming on. It's an honor to have you here. It's a real honor for me to be here. Thank you so much. So why do you think Rosie O'Donnell, you've never fought Rosie O'Donnell, right? No, I would never fight a woman. Thank you. Thank you for saying that. I mean, it's not obvious now. When they're pretending to be men, a lot of people think it's okay to beat them up. It's not.

But why do you think she's so mad at you, since I assume you don't know her or hang out with her?

You know, every time I see, you know, Rosie getting unhinged, I think that's a sign that we're getting closer to taking back America. You know, she's a crazy, mean, old, vile old lady, but, you know, I'm not sure what I ever did to offend her, so I'd gladly do it again. But we need to send her to the loony bin in 2024. A crazy, mean old... I think that's fair. I don't think that's an insult. I think it's just...

purely descriptive so you have decided to just be very open about your political views and mix them with your profession which is fighting at ufc um was that a tough decision for you

No, it wasn't a tough decision because I wanted to stand by what I believe in and, you know, all the principles that I was founded upon through my whole life. So once I saw the narrative was being shoved down our throat as professional athletes one way and there wasn't another side, I was sick of that. And I was like, you know what? There needs to be someone that stands up for the other side and stands up for what they believe in. And, you know, I wanted to be that guy.

So there's been a lot of talk about why the UFC is the only sport, professional sport in the United States, where the participants are allowed to say what they think. And a lot of that, I think, has to do with Dana White, who's just said we're allowing free speech and God bless him for that. But it does seem like a big percentage of guys who fight at UFC are on your side politically. Why do you think that is?

You know, I think they think that because they grew up in, you know, this constitutional, you know, great country of America, you know, land of the free, home of the brave. And I think they've seen, you know, just the toxicity that this woke agenda has caused people, you know. I mean, a lot of us are shadow banned on some of the platforms. I'm not going to speak their name because they don't deserve that attention. But, you know, when you start taking away free sprites, that's a dangerous proposition. Yeah. There's no going back from that. So...

I think people just want to stand up for what they believe in and the rights that this country was founded upon. That seems pretty basic and moderate and sensible to me. Yeah, for the most part, but not to the swamp establishment and the lobbyists and politicians. Why don't other sports do the same?

because they're paid. They're paid and bought for by China. You know, you've got people like LeBron James who, you know, he makes all his money in his shoe deals in China with these women that are working for, you know, pennies on the dollar in these sweatshops. And that's how he makes all his money, you know. And then you got Travis Kelsey, who's Mr. Pfizer, who's, you know, telling people he's paid and bought for by Satan himself, pretty much. He sold his soul to the devil. And, you know, he's telling people, get the devil jab, you know. Oh, what?

You know, if you get one, I'm not saying I'm for or against vaccines, but if you get one jab, shouldn't you make sure that it's safe? And like, there's not going to be any side effects from that one. If you're getting two at the same time, how are you going to know which one's giving you side effects? So some of the most just atrocious, you know, things that I've ever heard someone say. So I was told by a number of people that criticizing LeBron James is racist, but you did it anyway. Yeah.

you know, he hates America, the country that gave him billions of dollars. You know, he never stands up for America. He sits down during the national anthem. You know, they're playing it for the people that fought and to protect this country and give us our freedom so we can have opportunities like Ron. And here he is sitting for it, making a joke out of our national anthem and all the families out there that have to have suffering because they lost, you know, some of their family members in war. And here he is just making a mockery of them and just slapping them in the face.

So do you think if he wasn't getting paid, he would do that? I mean, do you think these are his real views or he's just acting on behalf of someone else? You can tell he's acting on behalf of someone else and he's bought and paid for by the establishment and pretty much whatever they tell him to do, he's just going to do that. He's a puppet to them.

So at some point, I don't know when it was, less than 10 years ago, somebody clearly decided, hey, NBA is really culturally influential and we need to make sure that our message is delivered by the players at NBA. I mean, it's really obvious that that happened. UFC is on its way to eclipsing the NBA. I mean, I don't remember in the last year anyone talking about the NBA. Everyone's talking about the sport that you're in. Will that happen to you guys at some point, do you think?

No, I don't think so. Because, you know, our leaders, Dana White and Hunter Campbell, you know, they're believers in free speech and they don't put a muzzle on anybody. They tell everybody to think and stand on what you believe in. And we're not going to tell you how to think or act. You can do that on your own. But, you know, they went from being on the brink of not having a company to now they're a multi-billion publicly traded company. So, yeah.

I don't think they're ever going to do that. They believe in free speech. They believe in constitutional rights and everything that America stands for. I was kind of surprised to learn that you've been doing this 14 years. That seems like a long time to be in a business this rough. Did you ever do you expect to be in it that long? And how did you do that?

Yeah, no, I didn't expect to be in it that long. I wanted to get in and get out, you know, make a good living for myself, change, you know, the structure that my family grew up in. We came from a blue collar family in Oregon. And, you know, I wanted to be able to break that trend and that mold and be able to become a multimillion dollar famous athlete.

I didn't care so much about the fame, but I just wanted the financial aspect, the freedoms from it. So I could live a good life. So I didn't expect it to be this long, but I'm loving every second of it. Are you really? I still love it. I enjoy it, man. I enjoy all the hate, all the people that tell me that, you know, I can't do something or you can't do this. Oh, you're going to get knocked out. We're going to do this to you. So I enjoy that. That's what drives me and gets me up early in the morning to work harder. What's your life like day to day? What's your training regimen like?

So I train six days a week, Monday through Saturday, and then I'll train twice a day, three days out of the week, out of the six days. So I do two a days, three days a week, and six days, just one a days. How long is your training? Three hours per training session. What does that consist of? It consists of all the martial arts. I'll do kickboxing, one martial art, and then I'll do jiu-jitsu because you have to practice submissions, and then I'll do some wrestling, and then I'll do strength and conditioning to make sure my conditioning is in peak form.

How long have you been doing that? For 14 years. Ever since I got out of college, I went straight into MMA and I wanted to make a better life for myself. So this was the only professional sport. Wrestling, it's like you can go to the Olympics and try and be an Olympic athlete, but those people make about the same amount of money as the person that's flipping burgers outside here. For real. So I wanted to be a professional athlete and be able to really change my financial future. Six days a week for 14 years. Do you like it? That part of it?

I love it. You know, I think that's my purpose. I feel like that's why God put me on this earth to chase my dreams and, you know, work hard and push my body and my mind to the limit. Not just my body, but it's also it's a mental thing. And I feel like fighting is a lot of mental. It's, you know, if the thoughts that you put in your head are really you can manifest a lot of things in this sport, but you can also bring yourself down. You know, if you're thinking negative thoughts, you know, you're probably not going to have positive results.

So what are the things that you do to keep yourself strong inside, to keep yourself fearless? You know, I just...

I think about the people that are the real heroes and celebrities of this country, people like law enforcement, people in military. And I think about what their day-to-day lives are. There's no holidays for war. These people are serving these politicians and fighting these politicians' wars overseas, but they don't get a Christmas holiday for war. No, they have to go over there and protect these people and protect our country and keep us free and safe here. Yeah.

I think about their life and their lifestyle. And I'm, you know, I have a lot of friends in military, you know, my buddy, Steven Hodson, who was the first sergeant for the army Rangers. And he's with the,

the skydiving team right now. And I just think about like what he's had to go through in Afghanistan, Iraq, and all these different wars that he's been in. And that's what makes me think about my life's easy, man. I get to do something I love every day. This is my passion to get up and train every single day. So how could I ever complain about my passion? Something I love when I have someone who's fighting for our country and you know, he, all he knows is he's standing for the red, white, and blue in our country's flags and colors. But he, you know, he's fighting these politicians, senseless wars and,

And, but he's doing it, you know, he's raising his hand saying I want to do it because I love my country. That's amazing. I mean, the difference, one of the differences though between what you do and what he does is when you step into the ring, you know for dead certain there's going to be violence aimed at you. Yeah. And pretty real violence. Anyone who's watched it knows it's not a joke. It's not professional wrestling. Yeah. You can get really, really hurt or killed actually. So how do you keep the fear at bay?

Um, you know, I always told myself growing up, there's only one man or one thing that I'm ever going to fear and that's God. So, you know, I feel that God has a plan for me and he put me here for a reason to have a platform and to be able to give it back to the people that deserve it most, such as first responders, military, and you know, our troops that protect us every single day. So, you know, I feel like God has a plan for me and he put me here for a reason to have a platform and to be able to give it back to the people that deserve it most, such as first responders, military, and you know, our troops that protect us every single day. So, you know, I feel like God has a plan for me and he put me here for a reason to have a platform and to be able to give it back to the people that deserve it most, such as first responders, military, and you know, our troops that protect us every single day.

I don't think about what could happen, the bad side of it. I think about how I could change my life and what good I could do with it. I don't just want to get, get, get. I want to be able to give. I'm starting up a nonprofit to benefit first responders and military. To be able to give back to those people is more important to me than how I feel or my selfish fears in life.

Do you ever get challenged in bars or restaurants with people who think they can take you? No, I've never had that happen, but I also don't ever go to bars or drink alcohol. Oh, you don't drink alcohol? Does anyone in MMA drink?

There's a lot of fighters, yeah. They drink a lot and they're big partiers, but not me. I like to live a clean, healthy lifestyle. I'm committed to my craft 24/7, 365. I'm not a part-time fighter who Dana calls me, he's like, "All right, Colby, you're gonna fight in two months." "All right, well, I gotta get in shape now." No, I'm one of those guys that prides myself on being ready at any time, anywhere, and against anyone. So if they call me tomorrow and they're like, "Hey, you're gonna fight next week," I'm ready to fight next week.

That's how I live my life. Does that happen? You get called up last minute? Yeah. I've taken a couple of short notice fights where I had to take it on a week or two's notice. And, you know, if I didn't take those, you know, I wouldn't be in favor with the UFC and I wouldn't be a guy that they can depend on. But it's one of my greatest assets to be able to be ready to fight for them at any time and do good business for the UFC. How much time do you spend with the other fighters? Zero. Really? Yeah. Why?

Just because, you know, I'm more than just a fighter. You know, I love fighting and that's one part of my life, but, you know, I try and have separation from it and disconnect and also be just a human and a normal person. And, you know, I don't want to surround myself and all my life just be all about fighting every day. You know, I need to have some separation and just a different lifestyle than that. What do you think is going to happen with Trump in this election?

you know i think he's going to win by a landslide if it's a fair election but i we know that they're going to do everything they can to rig this election in any way you know they they did the fake covet and all the mail-in voting last time which string are they going to pull next are they going to try and do some martial law type stuff in america i don't know we know it's not going to be a fair election but

You know, Trump's the strongest fighter I've ever met and the most loyal person, you know. What president went into office and their net worth went down after being in office? He's the only one ever. Everybody else, you know, they sold out to the lobbyists and the politicians, so...

His hard work for America is incredible. I mean, he was in Iowa one day. He was in New Hampshire the next day. He came to watch my fight. And then he was in Reno the following day. I mean, who's working harder for this country than him? That's how much he loves this country. It's not about him or what he's doing to advance him or his family's name. No, he's doing this for our country because he loves our country and he wants to put America first again. Do you talk to him? Yeah, I talk to him pretty often. What does he say?

You know, he just tells me how much he admires my wrestling abilities because he used to wrestle. So I remember, you know, he was making funny jokes about himself when I went to the White House to visit him. And he's like, Colby, you know what I love about you is that you're a wrestler. I used to wrestle, but I was the wrestler that was counting lights in the gym. So he was pretty much making a joke about himself that he was getting pinned. I was like, man, that's very humbling for you to say something like that. One of the most...

powerful people of all time and the most famous person alive right now and you're making jokes about yourself. So it just shows the type of person he is. He's just the guy next door that is just a super humble and respectful guy that loves his country and will do anything for it. You said he was tough. Very tough. Explain, why do you say that? Just, you know...

He's the only president who, you know, he had fear in everybody else. You know, we didn't have any new wars. He had peace in the Middle East. I mean, he had Putin shaking in his boots. Putin didn't want to lose everything he has in Russia, all the stuff he works for. But it's because he knew President Trump was a tough guy and he didn't mess around. Like, if you made any threats in the media or said anything, he would make sure that you're never going to say that again. So, yeah.

You know, he's a tough guy. He wrestled. Just the way he made it in this country, he made it through capitalism, through hard work with his bare hands. You know, the American dream, he achieved that just because he had a vision and he put it into action. So not a lot of people can say that. Most people are bought or paid for. Or you got a Nancy Pelosi who's using insider trading to get rich. It's sick. There's a lot of treasonous people in this country, but Donald Trump is not one of those. There are a lot of treasonous people in this country.

Do you worry about getting hurt in fighting? - Yeah. - No, I don't worry about it. You know, I put that in the back of my brain. I've gotten hurt many times and I always fight through it every time. So I know I can get through any situation. Doesn't matter if I'm hurt, injured, sick or not, I'm gonna keep fighting and I do it for the love of my country and the love of wanting to have a platform so I can give it back to the people that I love the most. - Clearly fighters try to psych each other out before the fight in public, I notice.

Without giving away your trade secrets, what's the purpose of that, the process, and does it work?

Yeah, it absolutely works. And the process is just to try and get in the psychological part of someone's mind and alter them, make them fight with emotions. Because when you fight with emotions, you're not going to fight the same as if you're in a free state where you can just not think and you can just do it off of intuition. But if you can get in someone's head and make them super mad where they're just going to abandon their game plan, they just want to hurt you, they want to knock you out, then you're an advantage. But

Also, there's a huge aspect to it too because it sells pay-per-views and it creates engagement because it makes it so people aren't going to be down the middle. They're either going to hate you or they're going to love you. But that's what you want because even the haters, they're not going to turn the TV to watch Real Housewives of Miami. No, they're going to keep it on UFC because they want to see you lose. But then people that respect you and like you, they're going to keep watching because they want to see you win and they want to see you keep rising. Yeah.

There's a very important aspect to selling fights and being able to promote yourself. Do people take it personally? You've been pretty tough on some of your opponents, right? Yeah. Yeah, people take it personally. They don't realize, like...

But it's funny because all the people have taken it personal in the past during the time after the their checks clear their banks They realize hey man. I actually appreciate everything you did Colby like you you made me a lot more money Otherwise if you wouldn't if you would have just been quiet and acted like a mute But the fact that you were vocal and you know you you made it more animosity filled for the fight That made me more money in the long run. So thank you Colby. I

for attacking me. So what have been the most effective attacks? Give me an example. You're up against somebody next week. What would you say about them? I would just say, you know, you're a soy boy and

You know, there's one guy that he's a legitimate cuck and, you know, I've called him out for that. Can you explain what that means to our audience? Yeah, so a cuck is just someone that, you know, sits in the room and they watch their spouse get sexual arousal from someone else. So, you know, there's people like that out there and, you know, the truth is what always hurts the most. And so you found out that this had happened earlier?

I had found out that this had happened. The girl was selling a book called WAG, which means wife and girlfriend. So she was like promoting that, you know, she had a boyfriend, she had a husband. That didn't used to be allowed. It shouldn't be allowed. It's pretty nasty behavior. I'd say. So what did you say about it?

Was he pretty excited that you pointed out he's a cuck?

- Not excited. He was pretty angry. - He was! - Yeah, I think he probably wants to settle the differences in the Octagon and it just so happens I like to fight in the Octagon, so if it needs to happen one day, I'd be honored to settle that. - Oh, so this is not even someone you're scheduled to fight?

No, it's not even someone I'm scheduled to fight. It's just someone that's been talking smack in the media, been throwing some terms around at me and never done anything or accomplished half of what I've accomplished in this sport. So I had to give it back to him a little bit and just say the truth. Did it shut him up? It did shut him up, but I have a strong feeling that he'll have something else to say very soon. When that kind of thing happens and it happens in public, does he text you behind the scenes?

- Nah, he doesn't have my number, but I'm sure he's probably trying to figure out, like, my location or where I'm gonna be and he'll probably try and jump me walking out of a poppy stake or something, like someone else did in one of my prior fights. - Tried to jump you? - Yeah, 'cause he couldn't take the truth. He couldn't handle the truth that I, you know, that's the extent that I took it to. - Wait, wait, slow down. So you, what did you say about this other person? - Oh, I just said he was a deadbeat dad because he wasn't paying his child support.

And he was? Yeah, and he was. Wasn't paying child support, cut off his communications with his kids, and then he didn't like that. He didn't like that I said the truth about him. So he had to sucker punch me in the back of the head when I walked out of a restaurant. That's unbelievable. Where? Yeah, in Miami Beach at Poppy Steakhouse. At Poppy's, of all places. So what happened next? He dropped you?

It concussed me pretty bad, and I was able to get inside and call the cops, and then he had to deal with the justice system after that. Whatever happened to him? He ended up getting an assault charge, and he had to plead guilty to it, and, you know.

He had to go to jail for the night and he'll probably have to pay some fines, I would assume. Have you seen him since? No, I haven't seen him since. So you never even saw him coming. You're just walking out of the restaurant. No. Somehow he was able to identify where I was. I was hanging out with my friends, the No Boys, and I don't know what happened, but we were walking outside and he was able to stalk me and he waited in the bushes with like a bunch of friends and a ski mask. What? Yeah.

And we walked outside and we were going to go to another spot to have dinner. And next thing I know, boom, in the back of the head, boom, in the front of the face, knocked my tooth out. He knocked your tooth out? Yeah.

He couldn't beat me legally. I beat him up for 25 minutes straight in the UFC octagon. So, of course, he had to do it illegally when I wasn't looking. Because if he looked me in the eyes like a man, he knew he wouldn't be able to do anything to me. But the only way he could do something is if he cheap shot at me and stalked me like the criminal that he is. Well, you got into his head, that's for sure. Yeah. Have you seen him since? No, I haven't seen him since. You know, probably a good thing. Do you think you'd ever fight him again?

I don't think the UFC would sanction that because they just saw how easily I beat him the first time. I beat him every round convincingly, knocked him down, dragged him out. It was a 50-43 and a soda is what I gave him. So I don't think the UFC would give me an easy matchup like that ever again. The UFC likes to make prestigious and high-level fights. They wouldn't want to give me some amateur that's not on my level. That's absolutely crazy that he did that.

And you were friends with this guy before, right? Yeah, we were best friends for eight years. We lived together for three years. Best, best friends. But that's what this sport does to people. People will sell out their friends for money. All he wanted was fame and money. So as soon as I started reaching up and getting high in this sport, that's when he took it personal and his ego kicked in. He was like, hey, man, we can't be friends. I want money more than I want to be friends with you.

Jumping a man outside poppies is not kind of the road to success though, is it? No, it's not. It's on brand for him. He's stolen cars in the past and he's had multiple felony charges. It's on brand for the type of person that he is. Are most of the guys who are in the octagon from pretty rough backgrounds?

Yeah, a lot of them, there's a lot of misfits, you know, a lot of people that didn't do good in school or just, you know, have rough backgrounds, fought in, you know, in unsanctioned fights. That's usually what brings out fighters. You don't see a lot of deep intellect, smart fighters out there, you know, that graduated college and have, you know, these crazy degrees. So most fighters are just troubled kids who just want to get locked in a cage and hurt someone. That's all they know how to do. Yeah. Did you fight a lot as a kid?

I did because I got bullied a lot. I was like a smaller kid and I wrestled. So everybody always was like, oh, that's the wrestler. And I was smaller. So they wanted to pick on me and call me out in fights. And they're like, let's fight in the park. And

And then I remember I got in one fight in the park, and I came home, and my mom's like, you're never fighting again, Colby. If you want to fight, go to the UFC and make money to fight. And that's when, like, the bell rung in my head, and I was like, oh, you're right, Mom. I should just go make this a living and start fighting for... But your mom got you into the UFC? She's the one that, yeah, led me down that path. Does she watch your fights? She does, yeah. Is she a fan? She's a fan, yeah. She likes...

She loves the overall of the sport, just the adrenaline that it causes and just the atmosphere that it creates. Is it hard to have a personal life if you're doing this for a living?

It is if you want to be successful and be great because, you know, most people, they want to, they don't understand the commitment that it takes to be a fighter. You know, the diet, the healthy lifestyle, the sacrifices. You know, I can't go out and go drinking with you one night or on a weekend, you know, have drinks at dinner. That's not realistic for a fighter. You know, I have to eat clean. I have to make sacrifices. I have to go to bed on time and wake up early to go train. So most people don't want to hang out with fighters because it's kind of a boring lifestyle. Yeah.

What do you eat? So I'm on a healthy, organic diet. I try and eat only earth-grown foods, meats, vegetables. I kind of take a lot of my diet from the food pyramid that I learned when I was a kid. I've just learned over time what works for me. Obviously, what works for me is going to be different than what works for you.

But, you know, I think eating healthy, getting at least a gallon of water a day, you know, your body's made up of, what, 60%, 70% water. Your brain's like something like that, 40%, 50% water. So it's important to get high water intake and, you know, just have that healthy diet consistently. How much pizza do you eat? I don't eat pizza. Ice cream? No ice cream. Cookies? Once maybe every six months. I'm dedicated. I'm committed to wanting to be the best fighter in the world and

Doing whatever it takes to get that. How do you cut the weight and describe what that process is? Yeah, so the weight cutting thing is pretty much, it's like a sponge effect. Like, you know how a sponge, you squeeze it and all the water comes out? Yeah. That's kind of like what the diet is because you take out all the salts in your diet. So pretty much in the morning I'll have eggs, lunch I'll have chicken, night I'll have fish, all lean meats but completely plain. No salt, no seasoning on them.

So you're eating these while you're drinking your water. No other sugar, no caffeine, nothing else. And when you go to run and cut weight, then the water just falls right through you because you don't have any salt in your body. No, you hold it in, yeah. Yeah, to retain the water. So it's pretty much just a low-carb, high-protein, and high-water intake diet. No salt, sodium, sugar, or anything else. And eventually it comes off. And then you have to fast the last 36 hours before weigh-ins. You just don't eat at all.

- Fast? - Yeah. - While working out? - While working out. - What's that like? - That's tough. That's the hardest part of the week. It's not the fight that I'm worried about. I'm just worried about the weight cut and how I'll feel after. - So like how much weight did you drop in the last week? - For me, only like 10, 15 pounds. It's not a lot, but-- - Only 15 pounds in a week? That's a lot by normal standards. - Yeah, by normal standards. But for most fighters, it's about 30 pounds. - 30 pounds in a week? - Yeah, in a week. - How do you do that?

Most of them, they're not eating, they're not drinking, they'll maybe have one meal a day, and then they're doing the same thing where they're not putting any salt in their body for the week, and no sugar and just high water intake, and pretty much just starving themselves. So then you've got weigh-in, and then how long after that is the fight? So you get the weigh-ins, it's the morning, the day before the fight, so you get about 36 hours to rehydrate and replenish your body before you fight the next night. So what does that look like? Are you just...

guzzling water and eating salt? Pretty much, yeah. Guzzling water, eating salt, eating a lot of carbs because you've been depriving your body of carbohydrates for a couple weeks because you're high protein, low carbs. Yeah. So a lot of pancakes, a lot of pastas, and yeah, just a lot of different electrolyte drinks to replenish yourself of all that water that you drain your body of. That's absolutely crazy. How long do you foresee continuing?

- In this sport? - Yeah. - A couple more years for sure. - Who's the oldest UFC fighter? - The oldest UFC fighter? Daniel Cormier was 41 years old and he was a UFC champion at 41, so I'm 35, I'm still six years away from that, so.

I still got a lot of good years ahead of me and I feel in my prime right now physically and mentally more importantly. So I feel great. I know I can keep going but I also realize that I'm more than a fighter and I have more ambitions in life than just fighting in a cage. So I want to be the change that I always talked about as a kid in this country. Being a fighter is pretty good though. It has its benefits. I think that's an achievement. Colby Covington, thank you very much for spending all this time with us. Thank you so much, Tucker. Good to see you.