Colby Covington announces retirement from UFC after polarising career

One of the UFC’s most polarising welterweights of the past decade Colby Covington has informed the promotion of his decision to retire, UFC officials confirmed on Monday.

Covington, 38, has not publicly addressed his retirement.

Fighting out of South Florida, Covington won the UFC interim welterweight championship in June 2018, later stripped of the title due to inactivity.

He first gained major attention in October 2017 after insulting Brazilians following victory over Demian Maia in São Paulo.

He went on to build one of the UFC’s most notorious “heel” personas, driven by rivalries with Kamaru Usman, Tyron Woodley and Jorge Masvidal.

A former Division I All-American wrestler at Oregon State University, Covington also became known for his outspoken support of right-wing politics, and in 2018 became the first UFC interim champion to visit a sitting US president in the Oval Office, taking his belt to the White House during Donald Trump’s first term.

Earlier this year, Covington said he was stepping away from politics, describing it as a 'dirty game'.

His feud with Masvidal, once a friend and roommate, escalated beyond the Octagon after Masvidal assaulted him in 2022 in Miami.

Covington pressed charges and later filed a civil lawsuit seeking more than $50,000 in damages.

Inside the cage, Covington recorded notable wins over Rafael dos Anjos and Robbie Lawler, and pushed Kamaru Usman in a gruelling 2019 title fight, losing via fifth-round TKO.

He ended his career with a 2-4 record in his last six bouts, with his final UFC appearance coming in December 2024, when he suffered a TKO defeat to Joaquin Buckley.