Saturday’s UFC Fight Night didn’t go exactly as Colby Covington had planned.
Covington, already an underdog in his fight against Joaquin Buckley, took a brutal cut above his red eye, resulting in a ton of blood and a TKO victory for Buckley after a medical stoppage.
Covington accepted the fight on short notice and was unable to get a full camp before the fight.
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Colby Covington prepares to face 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 a fight, you know?” Covington said in a video on his YouTube channel. “And I’m more than just a fighter, you know? I’m going to let this drive me. I’m going to have a full training camp. I came in 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 he lost.
Covington said he was too busy “campaigning” for President-elect Donald Trump, whom he has long supported.
“I was campaigning for Trump, you know, preparing for him,” the wrestler added. “I wasn’t even in the training room. I got off the couch two and a half weeks early. It’s a tough ending to keep going like this. I feel like I was just catching my breath and I was going to come out strong, but, you know, it’s what it is.”
Colby Covington punches 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 see “the greatest four years in history.”
“God bless America, God bless the Trumps. We’re about to get the best president back in office. It’s going to be the best four years. I’m so excited. We’re going to have world peace, closed borders, inflation.” This money I made tonight will go further now,” Covington said.
Covington once called Trump his “biggest role model.” Trump has long been a fan of the UFC and attended UFC 309 at Madison Square Garden shortly after winning the election, among many other events in the final 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)
The fighter donned a MAGA hat during a press conference ahead of UFC 296, which Trump also attended. Covington said Trump was going to put the welterweight championship belt on him if he had won the fight, but Leon Edwards retained his title.
