Colby Covington’s UFC career has come to an end. The one-time interim welterweight champion informed the UFC on Monday that he’s officially retiring.
UFC’s official website reflected Covington’s decision early in the day before MMA Fighting confirmed the label on Covington’s fighter page was no accident. Along with Covington, one-time UFC women’s bantamweight title challenger Mayra Bueno Silva, Brad Riddell and Nathan Fletcher were also removed from the roster page.
Covington, 38, last fought in December 2024. Stepping in on short notice to battle Joaquin Buckley at UFC Tampa, Covington suffered a lopsided defeat, with Buckley earning a third-round TKO via doctor’s stoppage. The loss put “Chaos” on a two-fight skid that included a unanimous decision loss to Leon Edwards in his third failed shot at an undisputed UFC title.
Going back to his roots, Covington (17-5) has recently returned to action with upstart wrestling organization RAF, scoring mat wins over former UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold and Dillon Danis. Covington competes again for RAF when he takes on Chris Weidman on May 30 at RAF 9.
Prior to today’s news, Covington had recently grown critical of UFC, speaking on his desire to fight at the UFC White House event on June 14. Covington appeared poised for a matchup against middleweight prospect Bo Nickal, who claimed that Covington turned the fight down. Nickal will instead fight Kyle Daukaus on the Washington, D.C. card.
Covington will likely be remembered most for his brash, outspoken, pro-wrestling-type of UFC persona. He earned notable victories over former UFC champions Rafael dos Anjos, Tyron Woodley and Robbie Lawler, while beating top contenders Demian Maia and Jorge Masvidal. Despite coming up short in both of his title tilts against Kamaru Usman, the rivalry is remembered as one of the division’s biggest of the past decade.
