Confession: I’m a Colby Covington Fan

The title kind of gives what this piece is about away and I feel all the better for it.  I admit it.  I’m a fan.

A year ago, I don’t think I’d ever heard or seen a Covington interview.  If I had, you can’t blame me for the fact I can’t recall it.  I mean, it is an interview at the end of the day.  However, the fact I don’t remember any of his fights before he faced ‘The Stun Gun” Dong Hyun Kim tells a story of its own.

As the decisions made by the judges were read out, the referee raised Covington’s hand, I remember sitting there thinking; “Here we go, what’s this idiot going to say this time?”  It turns out Covington didn’t really say anything too outlandish.  He demanded Dana White give him a title shot and thanked the Singapore crowd in his own unique way.  The fact is though, for the first time, I actually cared about Colby Covington.

Much like the rest of the MMA Twitterverse, during the year between the fight with Kim and the lead up to the Rafael Dos Anjos fight, I despised Covington.  I despised everything about him.  His demeanour at press conferences, his behaviour on Twitter, his words during interviews and his posts on Instagram.  To borrow a phrase from Stone Cold Steve Austin, I just couldn’t wait to see RDA ‘stomp a mudhole in his ass and walk it dry’.

And then something happened.  It clicked.  We live in a world where there is a UFC event around three times a month.  If you add big Bellator and boxing shows to this, there’s basically something happening every weekend that grabs the attention of combat sports fans like myself.  This basically means if a fighter fights say three times in a year, they have three opportunities to take the limelight.

Covington had managed to weave himself into the MMA zeitgeist to a point where he’s either talking or being talked about on a weekly basis.  As UFC 225 approached, it dawned on me, Covington Vs RDA was the fight I was emotionally invested in the most.

There’s an old adage in pro-wrestling that I’ll try to convey without screwing up.  As a wrestler enters the ring, he’s succeeding if the crowd are either booing or cheering.  He needs to worry if they’re indifferent or without an opinion.  Unfortunately, the majority of the UFC roster fall into the camp that “need to worry” in this context.  Covington had managed to navigate his way from this group of fighters and into the small minority that manages to garner an emotional reaction.

One of the things that irked me about Covington was the fact it was plain to see he was playing a character.  During the road to the RDA fight, I remember watching Covington in interviews and I noticed moments where Covington let his ‘heel’ persona slip.  A wry smile here, or a stutter there, I could tell Covington wasn’t “keeping it real”.  It annoyed me that Covington had essentially talked his way into an interim title fight and I didn’t believe he deserved it.

All that disappeared when I watched the ceremonial weigh-ins for UFC 225.  As Covington approached the scales, he got the biggest reaction from the crowd that day, albeit a chorus of boos.  What actually changed my mind about Covington was what happened next.  As RDA approached the stage, he received the biggest ovation I’ve ever heard any crowd give him.  RDA, who in my opinion, falls in the “needs to worry” camp had entered the realm which Covington occupies and become a “face” by proxy.  Covington had actually elevated RDA’s profile just because of the sheer hate people have for him.  I was impressed.

Covington eventually won the fight and I watched his post-fight interview and press conference with interest.  He seemed more familiar with the character he was playing and smoother on the mic.  He exuded the kind of brash confidence all good “bad guys” need and had backed it up with his performance earlier that night.

As the conversation turned to a unification bout with Woodley, Covington dismissed him as a challenger to his belt…and I got to thinking.  Thinking about how excited I am to watch this fight and how much I want Woodley to win.  Which is when the penny finally dropped.  When Covington was calling for a title fight six months prior, I really didn’t care to see this fight happen.  Now though, I’d go as far as to say it’s one of the fights I’m anticipating the most.  Why? Because of Colby “Chaos” Covington.

It’s a big ask trying to make people like you.  Woodley and Cormier have had their fair share of troubles in this pursuit.  Covington however, went a completely different route.  By playing a pantomime villain, he’s made the MMA community universally hate him.  He’s made us all want to see someone beat him which means we all will be tuning into his next fight.  And for that reason, I’m a fan.