
Ready for an unfiltered look into the world of UFC and modern fighters? 🥊 Join Sean Kelly on the Digital Social Hour as he sits down with Colby Covington, one of the most polarizing figures in combat sports. From his journey to the top of the UFC...
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Colby Covington
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Sean Kelly
Really?
Colby Covington
Yeah, he's not that good.
Sean Kelly
Damn.
Colby Covington
I've had some training partners that went and trained with him and they're like, he's not good at all. Like, he's just, he, he juices up. You know, you could tell he's a lab project. He's got all these steroids and chemical imbalance. You got all these, you know, pimples on his face and which kids shouldn't have when, when he's at his, his, his age. I just don't think he's that big.
Sean Kelly
All right, guys out here in Vegas got Colby Covington. He's out here filming. Thanks for coming on, man.
Colby Covington
Thanks for having me. I really appreciate it.
Sean Kelly
Yeah, full circle moment for you filming on that show again, right?
Colby Covington
Yeah, full circle, man. I was that kid early in my career that just really wanted to get to the ufc, would do anything to get on that Ultimate Fighter show because that was the platform to get into the UFC at the time. And now I here I am being Able to give back some of my knowledge and wisdom that I've, you know, accrued through my career and help these guys try and understand what it takes to be a UFC fighter.
Sean Kelly
Must be such a surreal feeling, right?
Colby Covington
Yeah, it really is. You know, seeing these kids, you know, I see myself, you know, 15 years ago, when I was just starting my journey, and all I wanted. I would do anything to be a UFC fighter, even if it meant, like, how the UFC fighter rules are, which is to get locked in the house for five weeks with 18 other competitors, and you're all competing for that one contract. So, you know, it's a tough situation, but how bad do you want to be a UFC fighter is what the UFC is asking these kids.
Sean Kelly
Damn. So only one person gets a contract out of that show?
Colby Covington
Only one kid?
Sean Kelly
That's insane.
Colby Covington
Per weight class. Yeah. Holy crap. It's. It's a competitive. Competitive career, you know, if you want to make it, you got to show that you're one of the best, and you got to show how bad you're willing to go, how much sacrifice you're willing to make, and, you know, how good you are to be there.
Sean Kelly
Do you still feel like you have that same drive as you did when you were on that show?
Colby Covington
I do, yeah. I still have that same hunger in my. In my spirit, you know, that's the same soul, that burning fire in my soul to. To compete and show the world that I'm the best in the world. So I'm driven by hate. Like, I get a lot of hate, you know, in the MMA space, and. And especially because I support President Trump, a lot of people like to call me names, and, you know, oh, he's racist, he's fascist, he's, you know, misogynistic. And so, you know, I like to prove haters wrong, so that's why I still have that. That burning fire in my soul.
Sean Kelly
You might be one of the most hated fighters of all time.
Colby Covington
Yeah, I would say probably the number one, in my opinion. I don't know, just all the hate I get, all the death threats, you know, the. The bounties on my head, you know.
Sean Kelly
Damn, you're actually getting death threats and bounties.
Colby Covington
Yeah. Brazil, you know, that's when I made my career. You know, all these people are yelling at me, you buy more. You buy more head, which means you will die when you walk to the Octagon.
Sean Kelly
Holy crap.
Colby Covington
So I'm like, all right, you got. You fans want to dis, you better be ready to take it. So I went and beat their Brazilian legend, Damian Mine, the number two guy in the world, like, number two on the wins list in UFC history. Left him in a pool of blood. And I said, all you Brazilians are filthy animals, and your country is a dump. And they took it personal. They put a $50,000 bounty on my head. They said they didn't want me to leave the. The country without being beheaded. And, you know, that's how my career started.
Sean Kelly
Holy crap. Yeah, I heard Brazil's pretty dangerous, actually.
Colby Covington
Yeah, super.
Sean Kelly
I don't know if I'd want to go there just on vacation.
Colby Covington
I think you would. If you're sitting in a car and the windows rolled down, they're gonna come by and snatch your iPhone right out of the car. Yeah, they're known for that.
Sean Kelly
They got some good fighters now, though, right? Oliveira.
Colby Covington
Yeah, they got some great fighters. You know, the lineage from the Gracies, you know, the Brazilian jiu jitsu lineage has really brought up fighters in Brazil, and, you know, they realize that this is their way out of Brazil, out of the favela. Is that tough, you know, tough life that they have being broke. This is the way to. To make money and become a professional athlete.
Sean Kelly
Ufc, which country right now do you think has the best fighters?
Colby Covington
I think usa still, I think. Really? Yeah. I still believe USA is. Is the centerfold for the best fighters in the world. You know, we got the. The beautiful facilities out here in. In Las Vegas, Nevada, the UFC Performance Institute and the UFC Apex. So, you know, I think fighters that are the best where they come out of America.
Sean Kelly
Yeah, it's hard to beat America. I mean, Russia looks like they're catching up, though, right?
Colby Covington
Yeah, they're doing good. They got some tough guys from Dagestan that are doing well, you know, but they have a champion or two, but. Which they've had. But I just think, like, overall. I think overall, we have better fighters. You know, they have a couple top runners, but they don't have a lot of depth. Yeah, a lot of depth. And I just think America is the best.
Sean Kelly
Yeah. So last year was one of your worst years, right?
Colby Covington
No, it was one of the best years. You know, we. We won back to White House. You know, fun back in office is one of the best years of my life.
Sean Kelly
I'm after fight, but. Yeah, no, that's facts, though.
Colby Covington
Yeah. But for fighting, you know, the bigger fight is Trump being in office, you know, bringing down inflation, keeping our country safe again, keeping our borders secure, keeping, you know, our cities safe. So, you know, I look at the bigger fight. And that's the fight for America and putting America first again. You know, I put myself second. You know, my career comes second before, you know, America's career and the future of our country.
Sean Kelly
Wow. Yeah. I know you spent a lot of time campaigning. That was probably a full time thing for you last year.
Colby Covington
Yeah, it was. You know, me and my buddy Bow Loud and we were traveling stop to stop. We were, you know, in Dallas one day, we were in New York the next day for a rally, we were in Georgia the next day Alabama. Just we were going everywhere. Wherever President Trump would be, we would be. So, you know.
Sean Kelly
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Colby Covington
Now that's our fighter. He's the greatest fighter we've ever had in America. So we wanted to fight for him. We wanted to show up for him and just show any type of little support we could and just rally people around and show told them that this is the biggest fight that we've ever had in America is to take back that presidency.
Sean Kelly
What's he like off camera? See the same guy?
Colby Covington
No, he's off camera. He's the funniest guy I've ever met in my life. Every time I see him, he has a joke. Like he, his sense of humor is out of this world. He's like larger than life. He's so funny. He's always cracking jokes. It's never serious talk around him. It's always just jokes. Like he just wants to have a good time and, and enjoy his life. You know, of course when it's on camera, it's business time and he's the best businessman we've ever seen in America. What have. What he's been able to build with the Trump Empire, the Trump Organization, it's. It's second to none. So he's doing that with America. You know, he's, you know, he's. He understands basic economics, so he's done great things for our country, but off camera, he's just a funny guy.
Sean Kelly
Yeah, I love that. Him and Elon are a deadly combo, man.
Colby Covington
They are. They are. I call them the Avengers. Those are two guys that just. They were made to be together. They just. The ying and yang, they just have so such great things. And they have great chemistry, too. So it's amazing to see them on the world. Sean. World scene pissing off all these politicians.
Sean Kelly
Yeah. Their confrontation was. The lenski was insane.
Colby Covington
Oh, my God.
Sean Kelly
That's never been showcased before or something like that.
Colby Covington
Never now, but that's how it's got to be. You know, we're the strongest country in the world. We have the greatest military in the entire world. So, you know, you're not going to come over here and make threats, especially when we've given you hundreds of billions of dollars. Like, who do you think you are, Zelinsky? Like, you're acting like a privileged, entitled little kid. We've given you 400 billion. What else do you need from us? You know, go get help from the European countries, from NATO.
Sean Kelly
For real. Are you a fan of any foreign aid at all?
Colby Covington
Not really. Just because, you know, I want to put America first. You know, we have, you know, a lot of homeless people on the streets. You see it in Vegas. You see it in all these big cities. You know, let's clean up our own cities. Let's, you know, keep our borders safe. Let's, you know, put more money into the military. You know, we've forgotten about our veterans that go out there and fight overseas for these wars, just for these politicians to make them rich. Let's. Let's get back to our military. And that's kind of why I started, you know, a recent a charity for America's Champions Foundation. You know, I started it with my friends. All my friends are either police staff sergeants, sergeant majors in the army, Navy, combatants, and we're like, hey, how can we use my platform to get back to good for the people that we're forgetting our heroes? So, you know, I started America's Champions Foundation. We're having this charity poker tournament at the hard Rock in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, April 2, and 100 of the proceeds go back to the troops and to our veterans.
Sean Kelly
Wow. That's important, man. I mean, that's so cool. The homeless problem is a major issue, but when you see states like Cali getting a ton of money for. And no results, it kind of pisses me off.
Colby Covington
Yeah, no results. I mean, the hundreds of millions of people out there, you know, on the streets in tent city, and it just. It doesn't make for a safe environment for the people that live in that community. Yeah, we need to clean that up, you know, and not incentivize them. Look how they're incentivizing them in California. They get them small traces of heroin. Hey, as long as you do these drugs, but you do it from the government, it's safe to do what? What? No, it's not safe to give bums heroin or meth or whatever. You're giving them in crack pipes, you know? No, let's get them off the streets. Let's. Let's promote good health and. And, you know, being a. Being a good Samaritan.
Sean Kelly
I hate to say it, but I don't know if homelessness will be fixed from the government. I think it has to be people like you, people that have influence that go out there and do it.
Colby Covington
Yeah.
Sean Kelly
You know, because I'm just giving money to the state or the city. Doesn't work.
Colby Covington
That's true.
Sean Kelly
You know, they just keep the money somehow.
Colby Covington
Yeah, that's. I went recently and. And was donating a bunch of cheeseburger, a couple hundred cheeseburgers to some homeless in Fort Lauderdale for. With my sponsor, BC Game, and. And all the homeless were saying, hey, these shelters were built in place, but they're not helping us with anything. You know, the government's giving them, you know, tons of money, but we're not seeing any of that. And so, you know, even the people out there saying they just feel helpless because no one wants to help them.
Sean Kelly
Damn, that's messed up, dude. I mean, it doesn't shock me anymore, especially seeing Elon investigate some of these organizations. I mean, the Social Security.
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Sean Kelly
There's millions of dead people. Claim the money. That's our tax dollars.
Colby Covington
It's our tax dollars. And then wasn't there one, like 56 million for sesame street, you understand? Or something like that?
Sean Kelly
Yeah, the condoms one too.
Colby Covington
Yeah, the condoms. Come on.
Sean Kelly
I mean, we work hard for our money, dude. You're out here literally risking your life for money, and then you're giving 40% of it to the government, and they're spending it on that.
Colby Covington
I know. It makes me sick, bro. I've lost a lot of brain cells to get gotten in my career and in my financial security. And to give away 40%, you know, I've given away millions of dollars to the government and just to see where it's going right back into the. Either the arms of the politicians or in the military. Military industrial complex overseas is just. It's despicable.
Sean Kelly
It's nuts. I've heard you say on Hodge Twins that you're ready to die when you enter that ring.
Colby Covington
I am. Yeah. Except every time that, you know, backstage that this might be the end of my life. And, you know, if it is, at least it's doing something I love and what I'm passionate about, which is fighting in martial arts and expressing myself and. And if I do die in that moment, then that's okay.
Sean Kelly
That is a crazy mentality, man. Yeah, for real.
Colby Covington
Fighting is dangerous, bro. It's not. It's not for the. For the week, you know, it's not for, you know, people like LeBron James who. They get a cramp and they're gonna see a couple weeks.
Sean Kelly
So I saw you call him out for the China stuff, right?
Colby Covington
Yeah, he's. He's a Chinese finger puppet. He makes all his money in China. You know, he's. He's over there, you know, he's his. All his merchandise is done in China with all these women that are working for pennies on the dollar in these Chinese labor sweatshops. So you can't talk about equality if you're not really about equality. What about the women in China that you're employing for cents on the dollar, but you're making Hundreds of millions, LeBron. How do you care about equality? Oh, you don't. You're a hypocrite. You're fake, and I'm gonna call you out every time for it.
Sean Kelly
Are you talking about his shoes or, like, what. What. What's being made in China for him?
Colby Covington
Yeah, his shoes, his shirts, all his merchandise.
Sean Kelly
Damn.
Colby Covington
Is made in China.
Sean Kelly
So is Nike and China, then.
Colby Covington
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Sean Kelly
So I guess you could say that about all their talent on.
Colby Covington
I love most of it.
Sean Kelly
I know you're a fan of mj, but damn. Yeah, they're making them cheap over there.
Colby Covington
Making them cheap, man.
Sean Kelly
I'm a fan of Made in America, but at a certain point, if it doesn't make sense, business wise, I've outsourced other countries. You know what I mean?
Colby Covington
Yeah.
Sean Kelly
Because sometimes it's just so expensive.
Colby Covington
That's true.
Sean Kelly
So from that point of view, I get it.
Colby Covington
But. I get it.
Sean Kelly
Yeah. But he definitely has some weird ties. I'm not gonna lie.
Colby Covington
Yeah, he has some weird ties. Like what? What do you think he meant when he said, ain't no party like a diddy?
Sean Kelly
You can't come back from that one. It sucks, though, because I'm a fan of hoops and I like his game, but off court, I just pissed me off, dude.
Colby Covington
Yeah. You know, yeah, he's a great athlete, but as a person, he's a terrible human being.
Sean Kelly
Yeah.
Colby Covington
You know, even during the BLM riots, you know, he's putting targets on first responders and law enforcement officers backs, like, saying they're the enemy. But then he's going behind seats. Oh, yeah. Police, please protect my family. Give us private security whenever you want, but, oh, no, police are the bad guys. Black lives matter. Just disgusting.
Sean Kelly
Yeah. BLM was. The truth has come out about blm.
Colby Covington
Yeah.
Sean Kelly
And it's nasty.
Colby Covington
Yeah.
Sean Kelly
The way they spent that money.
Colby Covington
I seen like, two of the. The. The owner had, like, two mansions in California. They got burned down.
Sean Kelly
Oh, it got burned.
Colby Covington
Yeah.
Sean Kelly
Damn.
Colby Covington
So what are they going to do now? They have to start another organization to scam the American people.
Sean Kelly
So messed up.
Colby Covington
Yeah.
Sean Kelly
You also called out Mike Vick. You want him in prison for life?
Colby Covington
Yeah. I can't believe that they think that he should be a college coach. This guy was inhumane. He killed dogs. He fought dogs for Years. You don't, you don't come back from that when you do something like that to an innocent, you know, animal. I mean, I care so much about animals there. They don't have a choice of who's their owner is going to be or how people are going to treat them. So, you know, it's just disgusting that there's all these other great Americans and great qualified coaches that should be that job. And you get Mike, Vic, this, this dog killer, this dog murderer and dog just neglector a job over these people that it works so hard. Just have, you know, no criminal backgrounds. It just, it doesn't make sense to me.
Sean Kelly
Yeah, I feel like they pick and choose who to kick out. Right, because they kicked out Colin Kaepernick for yelling on anthem, but then they let him back in the league.
Colby Covington
Yeah, Makes no sense.
Sean Kelly
Kind of weird. I mean, I wasn't a fan of the kneeling too, but the dog fighting seems worse to me if I had to pick one.
Colby Covington
Yeah, it's true.
Sean Kelly
You're killing innocent dogs.
Colby Covington
Yeah, innocent dogs. Like, that's so sad, you know, the kneeling too. Like, I can't even watch football anymore. It's just, it's not bearable to me. We start kneeling on a national anthem. Like, those are my heroes. Those are the people I looked up to more than anybody in the world. The first responders, military veterans. And when you use knee on the flag that they fight for, that flag is everything to them. They look at that flag like it's their mother, like it's, like it's their God. And they're willing to die for. They're willing to go overseas and die for. So all these athletes that are privileged can have this great lifestyle, make multimillions of doll and make more money than they should be making to play a kid sport. And you know, it's just, it's, it's pathetic that they nail on that. So I, I can't support that. I can't watch football.
Sean Kelly
Do you feel like a lot of sports are getting soft these days?
Colby Covington
Yeah, just they're being, they're sold and they're buying out, you know, like basketball, they're, you know, they sold out to China. You know, all their logos, all these, all the stupid little slogans they have on, on the jerseys. Equality and oh, racism is back this and that. Like, it's just, they just, they're just trying to really create a lot of conflict within this country and it's not right.
Sean Kelly
Yeah, yeah, basketball's high soft, man, compared to Jordan's era. So it's tough to watch now, man.
Colby Covington
It is the flopping. Oh, my gosh. These players are just. Yeah. They're so soft, dude.
Sean Kelly
Yeah, Same with football, honestly, because you can't tackle certain ways now. I mean, I get it because people are getting injured, but. Yeah, it's not the same.
Colby Covington
It's not the same.
Sean Kelly
Yeah. Super bowl was tough to watch. Dude. Did you watch that game?
Colby Covington
I didn't. I didn't watch it.
Sean Kelly
No. It was tough.
Colby Covington
Was it?
Sean Kelly
I mean, everything feels scripted.
Colby Covington
Yeah.
Sean Kelly
You know what I mean?
Colby Covington
Exactly.
Sean Kelly
And even a lot of fights, like, I don't know about ufc, but boxing, a lot of it feels kind of fake.
Colby Covington
Yeah, right.
Sean Kelly
Like the Jake Paul stuff.
Colby Covington
Yeah. Oh, yeah, That's. That's all fake. I think he's paying. All his opponents I've heard from some guys are like, yeah, he's paying those guys to take dives. And it's all just scripted. Like, you could tell in the Tyson's eye. I was there live, and Tyson's, like, biting his claws. He, like, you could tell he's like, holding back and he wants to go and. Yeah, there was, like, couple people that heard Jake saying, hey, don't. You better not go crazy or you're not going to get paid.
Sean Kelly
Wow.
Colby Covington
So, yeah, he's. That's my stomach gimmick fights, man. It's just. That's why UFC is the greatest organization in the world, because, you know, it's as real as it gets and they put the best fighters against each other and there's no script. It's as real as it gets, and we're going to fight to the death.
Sean Kelly
Yeah.
Colby Covington
Modern day gladiators.
Sean Kelly
Do you think if you fought Jake Paul you'd win?
Colby Covington
Oh, yeah, I'd win with one hand tied behind my back in boxing or boxing.
Sean Kelly
Really?
Colby Covington
Yeah. He's not that good.
Sean Kelly
Damn.
Colby Covington
I've had some training partners that went and trained with him, and they're like, he's not good at all. Like, he's just, he. He juices up, you know, you can tell he's a lab project. He's got all these steroids and chemical imbalance. He got all these, you know, pimples on his face and his back, which kid shouldn't have when. When he's at his, his. His age. And I just don't think he's that good of a fighter.
Sean Kelly
How common is juicing?
Colby Covington
It's very common among combats where I'm in any sport. You know, you look at the Barry Bonds era and Mark McGuire baseball is so prevalent. Football, you know, it's prevalent in football and, and all sports. You know, everybody's looking for advantage because there's so much money on the line, so.
Sean Kelly
I thought they cracked down on it though, did they not?
Colby Covington
They did. But like, as you've seen in like that documentary, Icarus on Netflix, like the Russian doping scandal, like, they have good chemistries, they, they have good doctors that are able to mask these steroids inside your body. They're able to put, you know, IVs in you to thin the blood in the water. So, yeah, you can't test for it. So people, they found ways to beat it.
Sean Kelly
That's crazy. And how much of an edge does it give you? Thinking, fighting?
Colby Covington
I mean, I, I don't know because I've never taken the words. I've only been natural. But I can imagine it gives you a massive edge because I was training with a kid one time a couple years ago, and, and I trained with him one week and like, he couldn't go a minute. And he did epl, which is like the drug that Lance Armstrong was doing during Tour de France. And he, he did the epo. He was shooting it up in his body. Came back the next week, he was going like 10 rounds straight and he still wanted to go rounds. I'm like, bro, damn, what happened? What's the difference between this week and next week? And he didn't want to tell me. And then I literally walked to pick him up one day for training and I walked in on him when he was literally putting the needle on his ass. Oh, what is that, bro?
Sean Kelly
Holy cow.
Colby Covington
He's like, this is epo, bro. Don't say anything between me and you. And like. And so I realized it makes a huge difference because this kid couldn't go a minute the week before. He's gassing out instantly. The next week he's doing 10, 10, 5 minute rounds like he's a madman. And he still has energy afterwards.
Sean Kelly
That's nuts. So it gives you a shit. Huge edge.
Colby Covington
Huge edge.
Sean Kelly
Wow. Massive crazy. Do you think Ryan Garcia did, did some steroids? Because he got caught up allegedly, right?
Colby Covington
Yeah, allegedly.
Sean Kelly
It looked kind of weird though.
Colby Covington
It looks super shady. I don't think so. I like Ryan too, so I don't think so. Just the way he beat Damon Haney and, and you know, his dad, they always make excuses. You know, they clip the L. They got to take that L. You know, it's his first L. So he just, you know, there was a lot of inconsistencies with the test, like, supposedly the drug testing agency was like a second drug testing agency hired by Bill Haney by Devin's dad.
Sean Kelly
So that's a conflict right there.
Colby Covington
Yeah, it's a conflict of interest, 100%. Yeah.
Sean Kelly
That alone should rule it out. If it's hired by his father.
Colby Covington
Yeah, exactly.
Sean Kelly
I mean, you could pay them off.
Colby Covington
Or whatever, which is. I think it got dropped. Right. I don't even know if it's still.
Sean Kelly
I don't know.
Colby Covington
Yeah.
Sean Kelly
He announced his next fight.
Colby Covington
Yeah.
Sean Kelly
Did you see the Javante fight the other day?
Colby Covington
I didn't get to see it. I was over at the Spear, so.
Sean Kelly
Oh, I was up.
Colby Covington
It was sick.
Sean Kelly
No, I heard it's.
Colby Covington
Oh, God. You guys see it, bro? Yeah, dude. Insane. Some of the visuals, insane. Like they put this freaking robot in the screen. Just some of the things it does on the screen. It's just absolutely crazy. So shout out to the Dolan family. You know, we got a relationship with Chris Dolan, James Dolan. They're great people.
Sean Kelly
That's awesome. Did you meet them through Trump's team?
Colby Covington
Yeah, I met them through Trump's team and actually Bo Loud and Bow introduced me to Chris Stone. We went to a Knicks game together. We went out to Madison Square Garden because the Garden, they own the sphere as well. And that's where we did the Trump rally back in October.
Sean Kelly
That rally was nuts.
Colby Covington
That now. That rally was amazing.
Sean Kelly
Did you speak at that one?
Colby Covington
No, I didn't get to speak, but we sat in the owner's block with James Dolan and Chris Dolan, and we had a great time and we got to be on the floor, walk around. It was crazy to see all the speakers that they had there.
Sean Kelly
I thought he was going to win New York after that rally.
Colby Covington
Actually, I did too. They had like, not only did they have a sold out Madison Square Garden, they had like 50,000 people lined up outside all the way down to the Hudson River. Crap.
Sean Kelly
I didn't know that.
Colby Covington
Yeah.
Sean Kelly
Because Kamala wouldn't have been able to do that.
Colby Covington
No chance. It would have been empty in there. She couldn't even fill up a high school gymnasium.
Sean Kelly
Yeah. When he lost New York, I got to say I was shocked because of that rally, dude. I mean, 100,000 people.
Colby Covington
Yeah. Everybody was shocked. They thought he. He was a shoe in to win that. Like all the support he gets out there, like.
Sean Kelly
Yeah.
Colby Covington
It's not what the me. The media will never show you that, though. And never will show you that there's, you know, hundred hundreds of thousands of People wind up in a blue, you know, New York City, they want you to, you know, believe that. The propaganda. They tell you that New York's blue and they hate his policies.
Sean Kelly
Yeah. I think tides are turning. I grew up in Jersey, actually. I think they might vote red in 28. It's looking good.
Colby Covington
You think so?
Sean Kelly
I think so. Yeah.
Colby Covington
That'd be.
Sean Kelly
We got people out there going door to door, really campaigning.
Colby Covington
Okay.
Sean Kelly
And I don't know how people can vote left these days.
Colby Covington
I know.
Sean Kelly
I mean, there's no one. I try to stay pretty objective. There's no one. That really impresses me on the left right now.
Colby Covington
No.
Sean Kelly
You know, who's.
Colby Covington
Who's their next front runner? Like, who can they even put out next?
Sean Kelly
People are saying Newsom, aoc But they don't impress me, to be honest. Now, you know.
Colby Covington
Well, look what Newsom's done with California. I mean.
Sean Kelly
Yeah.
Colby Covington
It's a disaster down there.
Sean Kelly
It's terrible, man. I know. Why you live in Miami?
Colby Covington
Yeah. Miami is nice.
Sean Kelly
How long you been out there?
Colby Covington
I've been out there 15 years now.
Sean Kelly
Damn. So that's a minute.
Colby Covington
Yeah, it's. It's been. It's been fun, you know, great climate out there. A lot of beautiful mamacitas and women. You know, I'm a single bachelor, so, of course, you know, I like to, you know, get new dates every day.
Sean Kelly
Is that by choice? Because you're so locked into fighting.
Colby Covington
Yeah.
Sean Kelly
Like, you don't have time for dating.
Colby Covington
I think it's by choice, but it's also partial because the girls in Miami just. They don't have good values, you know, no morals. And their moral compass is awful. They care about is money.
Sean Kelly
Yeah.
Colby Covington
I just want rich guys. And, you know, even if the guy's 70 and they're 20, it's okay as long as you're gonna give us on a yacht, take us around the world in your private jet, go to all these expensive places, get me coach bags. That's all they care about.
Sean Kelly
They call them 304s, right?
Colby Covington
Exactly.
Sean Kelly
Fresh and Fit Podcast is out there just roasting them every day. Yeah, that's. That's probably the worst downside of Miami, right? The dating scene for guys.
Colby Covington
Yeah, it's the worst.
Sean Kelly
Everything else is solid. The networking, the weather. Food's good.
Colby Covington
Yeah.
Sean Kelly
But dating is just. Man. Yeah, that's rough, dude.
Colby Covington
Yeah.
Sean Kelly
Do you want. Do you want, like, a solid girl by your side, though?
Colby Covington
Yeah, I think. I think. You know, who doesn't want that? You know, that's like the Dream forever. I mean, in my opinion, for every person growing up as a man, you know, you want to have a family, you want to be the man in the house, you want to have kids and a legacy to leave behind. Yeah, I think that's important. But I don't want to do it with the wrong girl and give her half my money. That's 100%. Definitely don't want to do. Do that.
Sean Kelly
Get that prenup.
Colby Covington
Get that prenup. Sometimes those don't, you know, hold them core. You know, the women, they have a lot more rights than men these days.
Sean Kelly
It didn't hold up for. Who was it? Bezos.
Colby Covington
Bezos.
Sean Kelly
Yeah. I don't think it held up for him.
Colby Covington
Yeah.
Sean Kelly
And now his ex is like the fifth richest person.
Colby Covington
Exactly. Crazy just for being what, you know. Yeah.
Sean Kelly
I don't know if I'm a fan of 50, honestly, like, I think you should take care of them, take care of the kids if you have kids. But 50 is like.
Colby Covington
Yeah.
Sean Kelly
And these child support numbers, holy crap.
Colby Covington
They're out of this world.
Sean Kelly
Especially for someone like you because it's based off your salary.
Colby Covington
Yeah.
Sean Kelly
So you'd have to give up five figures a month probably.
Colby Covington
Yeah. And then you look at like a guy like Elon Musk. I mean, look at the baby mamas to him. You have that. Look at that recent one, Ashley Sinclair. She's out there just claiming that they had the kid. And she wants like millions of dollars now.
Sean Kelly
Like she wants full custody too.
Colby Covington
And forecasted. Come on.
Sean Kelly
Yes. That's nuts.
Colby Covington
That's gross.
Sean Kelly
Shout out to Elon though. He's just had his 14th.
Colby Covington
Yeah.
Sean Kelly
That's insane.
Colby Covington
It's amazing, man. Global pop. He's done. He's trying to add those numbers of population.
Sean Kelly
Yeah. His legacy will be around for a while now.
Colby Covington
He's not going anywhere anytime soon.
Sean Kelly
Yeah. You want kids?
Colby Covington
Yeah, I want kids. What about you?
Sean Kelly
Same. I'm getting married this year.
Colby Covington
Oh, you give. Oh, congratulations.
Sean Kelly
Yeah, thanks. I want at least two. I'd say at least two. I grew up an only child and pretty lonely, so I think only child is tough.
Colby Covington
It's tough. You turned out so good, so smart.
Sean Kelly
I'm decent, you know. Yeah, but that's the thing we share is like that victim mentality. Like we had different upbrings, but a lot of people grew up like I did and they didn't end up like me.
Colby Covington
Okay.
Sean Kelly
So it's all how you internalize it.
Colby Covington
That makes a lot of sense.
Sean Kelly
Yeah. Did you have siblings?
Colby Covington
Yeah, I had Two sisters.
Sean Kelly
How was that?
Colby Covington
It was cool. You know, I always wish I had a brother that I could play sports with and stuff, but it was cool to have sisters where I could protect them and look after them. And if anybody touched them, they knew that deal with Colby, like, I was coming to fight him.
Sean Kelly
Were you the oldest brother?
Colby Covington
I was the middle of the middle. I felt like the oldest. Yeah.
Sean Kelly
Yeah.
Colby Covington
Just because I wrestled and I do martial arts my whole life, so, like, I felt like I was the old brother.
Sean Kelly
I feel that. So I think you're ranked number eight now in your division. You think you could climb the ranks this year?
Colby Covington
Oh, for sure. 100. If I want to climb the ranks and be champion again, I will be champion. You know, my last fight was an early stoppage. It was a little cut that I had over my eye. I was going to win the fight. You know, it was 1:1 going in the third round, and we had two more rounds to go, and the doctor was the DEI doctor. She would know what to do. You know, we're in Tampa, Florida, and they don't have fights there very often, so if this is in Vegas, that fight keeps going and I win the fight, and. And I'd still be ranked top, you know, five in the world. I think I was number four at the time. So, you know, if I want to be the champion, the guy that's the champ right now is a good matchup for me. He can't beat me anywhere.
Sean Kelly
So who's champ right now?
Colby Covington
Oh, this guy Balal, remember?
Sean Kelly
Oh, yeah, I know.
Colby Covington
Yeah. Remember the racist? You know, he said. He said the only reason I got a title fight, my last title fight, was because the color of my skin, White privilege.
Sean Kelly
Wow.
Colby Covington
Yeah.
Sean Kelly
People still play that card.
Colby Covington
People still play that card. Yeah.
Sean Kelly
Blows my mind.
Colby Covington
Crazy, right?
Sean Kelly
Yeah. I'm happy Di's gone, at least.
Colby Covington
That's true. I know.
Sean Kelly
Yeah. But Law, he won that at the Sphere, right? That was the title fight there.
Colby Covington
No, it was Rob.
Sean Kelly
Oh, Marab.
Colby Covington
Yeah. That was a great fight, too.
Sean Kelly
Damn. Yeah, I think you'll climb it, man. Number eight. You got any fights planned this this year?
Colby Covington
Nothing planned right now, just because I'm coaching the Ultimate Fighter, so, you know, first and foremost, I want to give back to these kids and help these kids achieve their dreams. I've done great things with my life and my career, so I want to help give them some wisdom to go and reach the heights that I've reached in my career. And then after the season is done, and I think it's A couple weeks left. We have three weeks left. Then I'll start looking for the biggest and best business we could do within the company. Talk to Hunter Cam. We'll talk to Dana White. And sit down. So maybe International Fight Week this summer back in Vegas makes the most sense.
Sean Kelly
That'd be cool, man. Do you think they should change how stoppages work? Because you said it was an early stoppage. Has that happened to you a few times now?
Colby Covington
No, it's never. It's the first time it's ever happened to me. Oh, really? Yeah, literally, when I was in Brazil, I had that same exact cut, that the scar tissue was in the same exact place, and my face was bleeding. Like, it was so bad. Blood dripping down my face, like, through my eyes. Couldn't even see.
Sean Kelly
Yeah.
Colby Covington
But I kept fighting because I'm a warrior. I. This is what I want. I signed up to go out on my shield. Let me go out on my shield like a warrior. So, you know, in that fight, I came back and I won with the cut. And this fight, you know, he was still draining over my face, but I was coming back, the momentum was changing, and I was walking this guy down. And then the girl doctor comes in. Oh, my God. I've never seen anything like, oh, my God, you're gonna lose your eyelid, Kobe. This might stop.
Sean Kelly
No, it has to stop.
Colby Covington
I'm like, what are you shitting? Like, you're. You're a woman. You're not a man. You don't. You don't understand what it takes to. To fight inside an octagon. You, obviously, you've never seen fights before, so you don't understand, like, what you're looking at, and just. It sucks because I feel like I got robbed, you know, Now I'm, you know, down at number eight in the rankings when I know I'm the best fighter in the world still. So, you know, it's unfortunate, but, you know, I'm not gonna cry, and I'm not gonna play victim. I'm just gonna work harder, and I'm gonna come back stronger.
Sean Kelly
Yeah. Yeah. That must be frustrating. That used to happen in Nate Diaz a lot, too.
Colby Covington
Yeah.
Sean Kelly
I think when there's a lot of blood, it scares them. But, yeah, sometimes when you have what you talked about, the scar tissue just bursts, right?
Colby Covington
Just burst, man. These little bones over your. Your eye. Your eye, your cheeks and eyelids are just. They're really. They stand out, you know, so when they get hit, they get nicked. They. They cut easily, especially from the little UFC gloves, they're 4 ounce gloves.
Sean Kelly
Yeah.
Colby Covington
And not 12 ounce gloves or 10 ounce gloves at boxing.
Sean Kelly
That's annoying, though, because if I was your opponent, I would take advantage of that.
Colby Covington
Yeah.
Sean Kelly
You know what I mean?
Colby Covington
For sure.
Sean Kelly
I would try to make you bleed.
Colby Covington
Yeah.
Sean Kelly
So maybe he knew that and went for it.
Colby Covington
Well, that's the worst part is, like, he didn't even hit me and make it bleed. It was like I was wrestling and I was taking him down and my, my, my, my eye bone bounced off his hip. Oh, so that's what caused the cut. It wasn't even like a punch. And then once he saw it, he started targeting, jabbing. He started trying to open it up more, More, you know.
Sean Kelly
Damn, that's rough.
Colby Covington
It's rough. It's bad luck, you know.
Sean Kelly
Holy crap. Which fight do you think about the most in your whole career?
Colby Covington
Probably the one that I won the world title, Rafael dos Anjos in Chicago, because that's the one that got me the White House. I was the one that, you know, got a call from the sitting president, Donald Trump, and got me to go to the Oval Office. Like, I never thought as a, as a kid coming from a small town in Oregon where nobody makes it out, all the people in Oregon just work in the mill. Here I am on the biggest stage, becoming the world champion and getting a call from a sitting president to go visit the Oval Office. That's cool. Nothing will ever top that.
Sean Kelly
Yeah. Was that your, your most memorable moment of your whole life, you think?
Colby Covington
Without a doubt, yeah. Just.
Sean Kelly
So Trump actually called you?
Colby Covington
He actually called me, man. Great fight, Colby. I thought that was a great speech. I appreciate you saying you want to come to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue and we're going to have you out next week. And I was like, what, Mr. Are you serious, Mr. President? He's like, yeah, Kobe, yeah, we'll see you soon. I'll get your flight arrangements. We'll get everything worked out, you know, and, and I'll see you soon in the White House. And then here I am, you know, in the White House in 2019 and sitting in the Oval Office, all these senators.
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Colby Covington
Without the ads, there's walking out. You know, The. The rhino. Lindsey Graham's walking out all these other, you know, big name senators, and here I am, just some UFC fighter from Oregon who's sitting, getting ready to go meet with the president, Donald Trump. He's working on all these issues, you know, about saving money, keeping America first. And here I am just going in there, deliver my UFC title to the President. Just so surreal.
Sean Kelly
That's legendary, man. It blows my mind when people turn down that offer because the Eagles just turned it down.
Colby Covington
They did end up turning it down.
Sean Kelly
Yeah.
Colby Covington
Wow.
Sean Kelly
Which is crazy because that's not like a once in a lifetime opportunity.
Colby Covington
Yeah.
Sean Kelly
Even if you're not Republican, like, you should at least experience it, in my opinion.
Colby Covington
Yeah. 100. And they turned it down in 2019 as well. That's funny, because when they turned it down, that was kind of the reason that I was able to get pushed to the front to go right away to. They're like, hey, the. The Philadelphia Eagles right down. So now Colby Covington gets to come and, and, and, and take their spot.
Sean Kelly
It's so crazy, though. Like, you should go and, like, experience it no matter what. Like, political belief you have.
Colby Covington
Yeah. Agree to disagree like you do. That's the highest honor in America to. To go to the Oval Office, into the White House. Like, that's the most historic building in American history. How could you not go pay respects to it? No matter what side of the aisle you're on, you don't have to be cool with Trump or say good things about him, but just go and experience it, man. Like, show that you're proud to be an American, the country that gives you everything. There's a reason you're. You're making, you know, 50, $100 million in the NFL. It's because of this great country, America. Go try China. Go try Canada. Go try all these other countries. You're not going to be able to make that same money anywhere else, but.
Sean Kelly
America can't make it and you can't say anything.
Colby Covington
Yeah.
Sean Kelly
We got free speech here.
Colby Covington
That's right. Yeah.
Sean Kelly
Well, we didn't for a little bit on your you know who. But yeah, now we do again.
Colby Covington
Now we do.
Sean Kelly
Yeah.
Colby Covington
Elon really saved that with buying Ax Man. That was like the. The start of it all, of saving speech.
Sean Kelly
Did you feel held back on on X before Elon?
Colby Covington
Without a doubt. Like, I had like 700, 000 followers. They took away like 300, 000 followers right before the election.
Sean Kelly
Damn.
Colby Covington
Yeah, it was bad. It was like losing thousands every day. I was like, what is going on. Like I was telling my buddy John, like, how is this possible? He's like, dude, like freaking Twitter. They're really throttling any account that is conservative. Especially because my main picture is with Donald Trump in the Oval Office. So they made sure I was like the. The biggest throttled account from the Republican side Instagram as well. You know, they wouldn't let me get one more follower since. Since I put up that picture with Donald Trump as my main picture in the Instagram bio In 2019, they haven't let me get one more. Follow. I've had 1 million since 2019, but I've been in two title fights. You know, main event, fighting T Mobile arena, selling a million pay per views. You know, all these big events, all these political rallies, and they won't let me get one follower. It's just, it's just, it's so sad that free speech has been taken away and they won't let the truth be heard.
Sean Kelly
Same here, dude. I've been. I posted a photo with Trump Jr. Not even Trump, so they must have an algorithm on him too. And I didn't gain a follower for two years. And I get 100 million views a month on Instagram.
Colby Covington
Oh.
Sean Kelly
And I'm not growing followers. I'm losing followers some months. And that's crazy.
Colby Covington
It probably makes you not ever want to be involved. Right.
Sean Kelly
I mean, it sucks. I needed to. To go viral and stuff, but I get more views from non followers than followers. Because they throttle your reach.
Colby Covington
Yeah.
Sean Kelly
So like none of my followers see my. Isn't that crazy?
Colby Covington
It's crazy. Just completely shadow banned.
Sean Kelly
Yeah. We'll see if Dana joining their board helps. I don't know.
Colby Covington
That's true. Hopefully it does.
Sean Kelly
I think it might because he will speak his mind at least.
Colby Covington
True. Yeah.
Sean Kelly
What's been your relationship with Dana like over the years?
Colby Covington
It's been up and down, you know, the last couple years is. It's very gravy. It's smooth. I'm very thankful to Dana White for all the opportunities he given, given me for the opportunity to meet Donald Trump. He's the one that, you know, was able to call Donald Trump and get that, get that meeting to go to the White House and Oval Office and deliver my world championship. So I'm super grateful for Dana. Early in my career, I wasn't. But I. I didn't see things the right way. You know, I was very, you know, just in my own world, you know, I thought I was done unjust and I thought that, you know, I was taking advantage of, but, you know, I, I, I didn't realize that you gotta. If you want to eat something, you got to kill it. You kill what you eat or you eat what you kill. So, yeah, you know, I started self marketing, doing better promotion, and they started paying me better, so. Super thankful to Dana White, all the, the privilege and opportunities he's given us in the ufc and, you know, just love everything that he stands for as far as freedom and not putting a muzzle on any fighter. He lets anybody speak, their voices. No matter what side of the aisle you're on, he's not going to muzzle you. You can say whatever you want. So God bless staying on the ufc.
Sean Kelly
I love it. Yeah. Love him or hate him, he's a straight shooter.
Colby Covington
He is.
Sean Kelly
He'll tell it to your face, too.
Colby Covington
He will. Yeah. He's not afraid.
Sean Kelly
Yeah. And doesn't matter how big you are, how tough you are.
Colby Covington
No.
Sean Kelly
They'll tell it straight to your face. That's why I love it.
Colby Covington
Yeah. He's so smart. Yeah.
Sean Kelly
It doesn't seem like he fears anyone.
Colby Covington
Does not fear anybody. Yeah. Both sides.
Sean Kelly
Yeah.
Colby Covington
Yeah. He's, he's not afraid to have a debate with you. You know, he'll just debate facts and, and tell you the truth of what's going on and feel like it. Too bad.
Sean Kelly
Before I even was a fan of the ufc, I would watch his press conferences just to see how he talks, because he's one of the best talkers I've ever seen.
Colby Covington
Yeah. Honestly, he's probably the best talker I've ever seen besides Donald Trump. Just public speaking. He's just on point. You cannot, you cannot trip him up on anything. And he's just so well versed in everything, pop culture, politics, you know, the world. He's.
Sean Kelly
Yeah, there's no gotcha moments with him. You're not gonna get him saying some wild.
Colby Covington
Let's see that.
Sean Kelly
Yeah, yeah.
Colby Covington
There's no clips you could put up that are memes that are gonna make it look stupid.
Sean Kelly
Facts. And he came back from a lot. Cancel Culture tried to get him, you know, he came back from it. I think Cancel Culture is dead, honestly.
Colby Covington
I think it is, too. Yeah.
Sean Kelly
I don't fear it anymore. I used to, like, actually fear it, like, posting photos with certain people, but now I'm like, whatever, dude.
Colby Covington
Yeah. You know, now we got back control of the government. We got. We the people are back in charge. You know, we, we put back our leader, and, you know, he doesn't stand for that. If they, that cancel Culture is not going to work, you know.
Sean Kelly
Yeah.
Colby Covington
So it's good that we got Donald Trump back in.
Sean Kelly
Do you think you'll get into politics after fighting?
Colby Covington
I would like to. I think it would be cool. You know, I think it'd be fun to, to serve and fight for the people. To be in a position where you're serving the public. I think that would be awesome. You know, I'd love to fight for the people and, you know, just do. Do right by people. I, you know, I've made a great life for myself, so now I just want to get back the other day. I think that's my mission and motivation going forward. So if I can get into some political office where I'm giving back and, and making sure that people have the power, then I think that'd be my greatest honor.
Sean Kelly
That'd be cool. Maybe a cabinet position under Vance. Yeah, Maybe advance runs next campaign.
Colby Covington
Yeah, maybe even this one. You know, I'd like to get on that Make America Healthy Again train. You know, who better guy to. To preach to the kids in the schools around the country than someone who's been healthy his whole entire life? Since I was 5 years old, 32 years of, you know, good health and, and training and, and reaching goals. So, you know, my big thing, I want to make sure kids, you know, are being healthy with their fitness. You know, when I was a kid, we used to have this thing called the, the national and Presidential Fitness Awards. I don't know if you know what that is.
Sean Kelly
I never heard of those.
Colby Covington
It. So it was like, it was in these schools, and these kids, if they reach these goals, like for a mile, if they ran a mile in seven minutes, and they got the Presidential Fitness Award, if they did in eight minutes, and they got the National Fitness Award. So they were kind of incentivized to have good times and be healthy and, and reach your fitness goals. Now we've went away from that. Now, you know, these kids, they're. They're taught to be obese, play video games and, and eat the slop in the cafeteria, which is absolute trash food. And we're not making these kids healthy and putting good things in their body and telling them to work out and have physical exercise because.
Sean Kelly
Right.
Colby Covington
I think that's important. I think kids got to have physical exercise. They got to get out there, be healthy. And, you know, that just opens up everything. It's going to help you be a lot smarter in your brain. I think there's a lot of chemicals. It releases serotonin and whatnot. So that's my big issue right now. I want to get on the Make America Healthy Again train. I want to bring back the national and Presidential Fitness Awards.
Sean Kelly
That'd be great. They should definitely bring that back, man. My gym teachers were fat growing up.
Colby Covington
Yeah, right. How does that. How does that relate?
Sean Kelly
Yeah, there should be a weight limit for gym teachers. You know, you want to teach gym.
Colby Covington
But you're going to be fat. No, no fat person is in the gym, you know.
Sean Kelly
Nah, nah. That never made sense to me.
Colby Covington
Nah.
Sean Kelly
Yeah, Kids these days. A lot of distractions, man. I think it's probably harder to be healthier now. I think it is as a kid.
Colby Covington
Yeah.
Sean Kelly
Because before there wasn't iPhones, so we weren't addicted to scrolling. Now we used to go outside as kids.
Colby Covington
Yeah.
Sean Kelly
I don't see that anymore.
Colby Covington
Nah, these kids. I see a lot of kids, like my friend's kids, they just sit on the iPad all day just playing all these different apps. I'm like, how is that benefiting them? How am they getting smarter? How they, you know, being healthier? You know, they're just sitting and eating Fast Food and McDonald's and just scrolling these iPads. So, yeah, this isn't what we should be teaching our kids. We should teach them, go play as many sports as you want. Just this, you know, so you're busy and you're staying active and you're being healthy. And then, you know, let's talk about the things that are in our foods. You know, like even, you know, RFK starting to expose that all these seed oils, pesticides, all these preservatives, like, in our foods, like, why are we. Why are these all in our American foods? Like, let's take this out and let's stop poisoning the people.
Sean Kelly
Yeah, it's terrible. Food and water, the fluoride stuff.
Colby Covington
Fluoride.
Sean Kelly
I mean, yeah, that's been proven to drop iq. So our kids these days are dumber than we were when we were growing up.
Colby Covington
Yep. And, you know, I've always tried to drink bottled water and stay away, you know, and. But it's tough, you know, not a lot of people can afford bottled water.
Sean Kelly
Yeah.
Colby Covington
You have to drink out of the tap. So, yeah, we need to. We need to pull back that. But hopefully Dosh will go after that and expose all the corruption among water and our food.
Sean Kelly
Yeah. 100, man. Yeah. It's needed. These. These children are the future of our. Our country.
Colby Covington
Yeah.
Sean Kelly
And if they're not, I mean, plus, the education is terrible.
Colby Covington
Oh, it's so bad.
Sean Kelly
I Mean, I don't know. You went to public school?
Colby Covington
Yeah, I went to public school.
Sean Kelly
I mean, did you learn anything?
Colby Covington
No. Yeah, I remember, you know, making a couple. A couple bucks, like, out of college. And like, no one told me about taxes. No one told me about investing and. And this and that. So I was like, I made 100 grand, like, when I was like, 25, and then I was broke when I was the next month.
Sean Kelly
Damn. Was that from fighting?
Colby Covington
Yeah, yeah, No, I was actually from poker.
Sean Kelly
Oh, wow. You played poker.
Colby Covington
I played poker. I'm a big poker player.
Sean Kelly
Oh.
Colby Covington
You know, I was talking with Blake Wynn, you know, who's. Who connected us and got me on the shin. Shout out to, yeah, Blake Wynn. But I'm gonna go play his celebrity poker tour. But that's kind of how I met him is like, through poker. And. And I just love poker. I'm super passionate about it. I want to be the best poker player on the earth. I always come to Vegas every summer and play the World Series of Poker. Oh, nice. So that's a big thing for me.
Sean Kelly
What's the farthest you made it? Not.
Colby Covington
I got to like, the top 8%. Last year I think I got 700th place or 600.
Sean Kelly
Holy crap. Out of 10,000. That's good.
Colby Covington
It was like 20,000.
Sean Kelly
Damn. Yeah, so you're nice.
Colby Covington
All right. You know, I could play. I wouldn't say I'm nice. You know, if I'm making final tables, then that I'm nice.
Sean Kelly
Yeah. Because that's a whole different sport than fighting.
Colby Covington
It is.
Sean Kelly
So to be good at both is really impressive to me.
Colby Covington
Yeah. You know, and that was always my dream. I wanted to be like a simultaneous two sport world champion. So, yeah, to be a poker champion and fighting champion at the same time, I think would be like. That would cement my legacy as, like a great athlete.
Sean Kelly
So you're good at reading people, Don?
Colby Covington
Good at reading people and putting pressure on people. That's what I do in fights. I put a lot of pressure on people. So that's the same game plan I put on when I'm playing poker. Putting a lot of pressure. I'm applying the chips and. And using the math percentages against them. And I'm also fearless. Just like, I get in the cage, I'm fearless. You know, I take a lot of risks with my health every time I step in the cage. But it's the same thing when I'm playing poker. I'm. I'm not afraid to make the big three barrel bluff.
Sean Kelly
Damn. And you Know the percentages, too.
Colby Covington
I know the percentages. I, you know, I know the players, the, you know, all the pros now I know everybody. So I studied the game, and I see how all the pros are playing these days. And, you know, I'm the new kid on the block, man. Everything. Everybody thinks I'm stupid. They're like, oh, he's a fighter. He gets punched in the head. No way. He's an intellect and can think, you know, deeply through these poker equations. But, no, I'm proving them all wrong.
Sean Kelly
Do you use the GTO stuff, too?
Colby Covington
Nah, I just. I'm more a field player. I know they have, like, the solvers, all that stuff, but I'm not big into that because when you're under pressure and it's in that moment, like, that's when it's most important, when. When it's, you know, when the bright lights are on.
Sean Kelly
So I feel like the solvers take away from the fun of the game.
Colby Covington
They do.
Sean Kelly
You know what I mean?
Colby Covington
Yeah. They're just robots.
Sean Kelly
Like, there's no more emotion. There's no more reading people, because you know what they're gonna do.
Colby Covington
Yeah.
Sean Kelly
So I like the old school poker, personally.
Colby Covington
Yeah. You play?
Sean Kelly
I don't, but I've had on Negronu on the show. I've had on all the top poker guys.
Colby Covington
Okay.
Sean Kelly
Yeah, those guys are. People don't know how hard it is to do what they do and make a living off of it, for sure. Like, they don't get the respect they deserve.
Colby Covington
They don't. Yeah. The emotional strength that those guys have, that. The ups and downs, the swings, the heartbreakers that they have to deal with. I mean, you could be the best poker player. And like, Nagrandu knows time and time again, he's probably put it in 80, 90% favor to win, but then you lose, so it's like, how do you, like, internally, like, deal with that?
Sean Kelly
Yeah.
Colby Covington
What? I was 90%. How the did I. I'm supposed to win nine out of 10 times. How was it that one time that I lost for real?
Sean Kelly
What's the most you've lost in poker, man?
Colby Covington
A lot. I don't know if I should talk about it on here.
Sean Kelly
Yeah, it was that bad?
Colby Covington
Yeah. Holy crap. Yeah, it's a. It's a lot. A couple hundred. Geez.
Sean Kelly
At least you've made some.
Colby Covington
Yeah, at least I've made some. You know, I've won some tournaments, you know, here and there. I've done pretty well in cash games here and there. But the Big thing is that the big cash games that I learned at Ari about two years ago, when I lost the most money, is that everybody is collusion. Everybody's teaming up together. Like, they knew I had a lot of money from fighting and, like, fighting in title fights. So they all brought me to this game, and they were all taking 50% from each other, and then they were all just playing against me. Wow. Yeah. So I came in, you know, with big money, you know, six figures plus every time I'd sit down, and these guys were literally just playing against me. And the only reason I figured out because I had lost, like, a ton of money. And I went home that night, and the next day I came back and I just wanted to play and get back my money so bad. And, like, one of the players came outside before I was going to go in. He was like, my fan. He was like, oh, Colby, I'm such a big fan. When you're gonna fight again. I'm like, yeah, you know, I'm gonna fight again soon, but the fight I want is tonight. I want to fight in this poker. I want to get my money back.
Sean Kelly
Yeah.
Colby Covington
So he's. I'm like, how's the game going? He's like, oh, it's going great. Because, you know, the owner of the game staking me, he's taking 50% of my action. So I'm like, oh, I didn't tell him in that moment, but I'm like, I. I leave and I'm like, I put it all together. I'm like, if he's taking 50% of this kid who he's not even friends with, all the other guys he's closer with, I know he's taking 50. 50 of that's collusion. That's cheating.
Sean Kelly
Yeah.
Colby Covington
So, like, in the poker world, there's a lot of collusion and a lot of scandals. So it's like, I don't trust playing high stakes poker cash games anymore. I'll only play big tournaments now. Like, I went to the Bahamas, played a 25k tournament for the WSOP because I know the tournaments are legit. You can't. You can't mark the cards, you can't share 50 of the action and straight up. So I'll only play tournaments from here on out because, damn, that's messed up.
Sean Kelly
Did you call them out?
Colby Covington
I didn't call him out because I was like, I didn't want to make a big deal out of it, and, you know, I just didn't know who was going to believe me. I'm like, it's just my word against their words.
Sean Kelly
Yeah.
Colby Covington
I told a lot of different people, like, in the poker community, I was like, don't trust this guy's game. Like, this guy's clearly playing with his friends. They're sharing 50 of the action. That's clear collusion. That's cheating. So you want to play against these guys? Good luck. You'll never win long term. It's literally impossible. So I'm glad to find out. Could have cost me millions. I look wild. Yeah.
Sean Kelly
I heard Vegas has some of the toughest competition in the casinos.
Colby Covington
It does. Yeah. A lot of these players, they move out here with the dream of being a professional poker player.
Sean Kelly
Yeah.
Colby Covington
So their dream is to. To make it in these casinos and. And, you know, the toughest players in the world are playing here.
Sean Kelly
Yeah. I hear some horror stories with these home games, man. Like, the dealers in on it or like, marked cards.
Colby Covington
Marking cards.
Sean Kelly
Yeah. It's not worth the risk.
Colby Covington
They got glasses. Really? Yeah. They could have glasses like that. You don't even know that. They're literally. They're. They have like a thing on there that shows, like, what card is.
Sean Kelly
No way.
Colby Covington
Yeah.
Sean Kelly
Why?
Colby Covington
Yeah, and they're like, they're prescription glasses. The clear see through. You can't even tell. And they have this little thing that just sees, like, the markings on the card. Like, each card is marked with like, illuminated type thing. Holy. And no one else can see it unless you have these glasses on.
Sean Kelly
Dude, that's what. I would never guess that.
Colby Covington
Yeah. That's why it took so long for people to figure it out. And then eventually one guy was just like, what the. How am I losing? Bad beat after basket, like kings, the aces, like, over and over. How is that possible?
Sean Kelly
Yeah, because over time, you know something's up, right?
Colby Covington
Yeah. You start seeing, you know, a repetition of hands where you're losing coolers, you know, aces to kings or straight to a flush. And it's just like, that's not statistically possible. Like, poker is like. It's hard to make a pair in poker sometimes. So how. How is he just always beating me one by one hand? He always has the nuts, and I always have the second nuts. How. How is that possible?
Sean Kelly
Yeah, it's nuts. Who do you think the goat with poker is?
Colby Covington
I think the goat of poker is, I think, honestly, Fedor holes. He's. Wow, favorite player.
Sean Kelly
That's a rare answer.
Colby Covington
Yeah, he's.
Sean Kelly
Man, you got him over Ivy.
Colby Covington
I got him over Ivy because he's had a lot, a lot of scandals. He got kicked out of the Aria. He used to have that room at the arm.
Sean Kelly
Yeah. That was for baccarat, though, right?
Colby Covington
Was it baccarat or blackjack, I think. Oh, one of those.
Sean Kelly
Yeah, one of those.
Colby Covington
Yeah. I don't know. That just. That always puts a stain on it, you know, when you. When you're cheating against the casino.
Sean Kelly
Yeah, well, yeah, I know you have a reputation for calling out cheaters.
Colby Covington
Yeah, I don't like cheaters. You know, I fought a lot of cheaters and, you know, in the UFC from Cameron Usman, who was obviously on. On steroids. You look at him, he looks like a lab project. This guy looks like a bodybuilder.
Sean Kelly
Yeah.
Colby Covington
You know, I had to fight that guy twice for. For entitle fights, so I know he treated me out of many titles. So.
Sean Kelly
Yeah. From your perspective as someone that's all natural and, you know, you're better than them if they're all natural and then you lose to them. It must be super frustrating, right?
Colby Covington
Yeah, it's super frustrating because I've never cut corners. I've always done things the hard way, you know, and. And the right way. You know, I didn't cut corners and do stairways to get an advantage. You know, I just trusted him. I believed in God and I had faith in my work ethic and, you know, I let that be the determiner. But I get cheated out of, you know, titles. Titles and millions of dollars is, like, such a hard thing to have to swallow.
Sean Kelly
Yeah. Yeah. Because that's legacy, too. It's not just money. It's like being the champ.
Colby Covington
Yeah.
Sean Kelly
Like that goes down in history.
Colby Covington
Goes on history. People still, you know, talk about me online. Oh, you got. You got your face broke. Oh, you got beat up. You got this now, which I've never been beat up or knocked out, but it's just funny to hear them say that. But, yeah, I can't rewrite that history now. Now that's forever.
Sean Kelly
Which is crazy. If you're going up against guys on steroids and you've never been knocked out, well done, dude.
Colby Covington
I real super thankful, man. Freaking got an iron chin. And I don't think there's a man alive that can take my. Take my souls.
Sean Kelly
Yeah, see, that's impressive. I can't believe that stuff's still going on. I thought they cracked down on it.
Colby Covington
Yeah, I mean, they do. They got their drug testing companies, but these companies can't detect some of the steroids that these guys are coming out with these new, you know, these New. Yeah, these new steroids that these doctors are coming up with and, and these doctors are getting so smart these days. They have such advanced technology. They're able to mask it, you know?
Sean Kelly
Yeah.
Colby Covington
Do these steroids and they can mask it and no matter if they do blood or, or urine, they're able to mask it and get away from doing that.
Sean Kelly
That's scary. I wonder what percentage of people are on it then. It's gotta be fighting or sports fighting. Well, probably everything, but yeah, I would.
Colby Covington
Say in all of it, like 80, 85.
Sean Kelly
Holy.
Colby Covington
Yeah, that high. I really believe that high.
Sean Kelly
Dude, that's crazy.
Colby Covington
Yeah, it's just there's so much money up for grabs. These guys, they know what they're doing. Like they're, they're willing to risk their life and their, and their future and their longevity of their health just for short term gain and to get famous and to make all this money. So.
Sean Kelly
Yeah, because that's going to take years off their, their health. Right.
Colby Covington
Yeah.
Sean Kelly
In the long run.
Colby Covington
See, I like the pro, the pro wrestlers, like I'm big into the WWE and shout out to wwe, but a lot of those from the old, old days, you know, they all ended up having like enlarged hearts and right from heart attacks, like 10 or 20 of them. Like Eddie Guerrero and, and Chris Benoit and all these, all these guys.
Sean Kelly
I've seen that.
Colby Covington
Yeah.
Sean Kelly
And a lot of the bodybuilders can't even walk these days.
Colby Covington
No. Yeah, you look at Ronnie Cole moment. Super sad dude. So sad to see, you know, he can't even walk around. He has to have the stroller everywhere he goes.
Sean Kelly
Yeah. I guess to get to the top, people are willing to really, you know, sacrifice their longevity, which is crazy to me. I don't want that. Yeah. Because this is just a phase of your life, just, you know, you'll fight for 20, 30 years, but you're gonna get into bigger things after this.
Colby Covington
Yeah. It's just one chapter of your life, you know, fighting, fighting, bodybuilding, whatever sport. It's like one little chapter.
Sean Kelly
Yeah.
Colby Covington
Then you go into the next chapter. Whether it's, you know, coaching or giving back or being a world big podcaster like yourself and know there's always life after sports and competition.
Sean Kelly
Yeah. You're gonna start a pod.
Colby Covington
I don't know if I had the right team, you know, if I had people around like you did, like, maybe I would, but I don't know. I think I'm too late in the game. I think the game's kind of oversaturated. You have legends in the game like yourself, you know, so I don't want to compete with you.
Sean Kelly
You know, you've been doing a lot of paws. Yeah, there's a lot of shows. If you do start it, you need a unique angle, you know.
Colby Covington
Okay.
Sean Kelly
You need a unique show.
Colby Covington
Yeah.
Sean Kelly
But I think people will listen to you. I know you're doing YouTube stuff, right?
Colby Covington
Yeah, I just got into YouTube, building my YouTube channel and I'm big into the streaming world now with Twitch and. And yeah, just trying to open up all the different social media avenues that can help me in my financial security.
Sean Kelly
I love them, dude. It's been awesome. Anything else you want to close off with or promote?
Colby Covington
Just, you know, the biggest thing is just my charity April 2nd. I'm. I'm very passionate about that. You know, it's all about the military, first responders and giving back to those guys. And, and so, yeah, we're having our tournament if anybody wants to come out April 2nd to Hollywood, Florida at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino. We'd love to have you. And 100% of the proceeds are going back to our military and our veterans. And just really appreciate you having me on the show today. Sean Kelly and shout out to Blake Wynn. Thanks for introducing us and keeping us and bringing me on here. And I. I look forward to watching some more podcasts of you in the future. Future. And thank you for everything you're doing among the podcast space and the free speech absolutist.
Sean Kelly
Thanks, man. It means a lot. We'll link your charity stuff below and your socials. Thanks for coming on.
Colby Covington
Thanks.
Sean Kelly
Check them out, guys. See you next time.
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Title: The Truth About UFC & Modern Fighters | Colby Covington | DSH #1232
Release Date: March 12, 2025
Host: Sean Kelly
Guest: Colby Covington, UFC Fighter
Colby Covington opens up about his early aspirations and the pivotal role that the Ultimate Fighter show played in launching his UFC career. Reflecting on his journey, Covington shares, “I was that kid early in my career that just really wanted to get to the UFC, would do anything to get on that Ultimate Fighter show because that was the platform to get into the UFC at the time” (02:00).
Covington delves into the intense drive that fuels his career, attributing it largely to the hate he receives due to his outspoken support for President Trump. He states, “I’m driven by hate... I like to prove haters wrong, so that’s why I still have that burning fire in my soul” (03:07). This relentless motivation has positioned him as one of the most polarizing figures in MMA.
Discussing the backlash he faces, Covington claims to be “probably the number one [most hated fighter] in my opinion” and recounts receiving death threats after his victory in Brazil. He explains, “They put a $50,000 bounty on my head. They said they didn’t want me to leave the country without being beheaded” (04:18). This intense animosity has only strengthened his resolve within the sport.
Covington expresses a strong preference for American fighters, asserting, “I still believe the USA is the centerfold for the best fighters in the world” (05:34). He acknowledges the prowess of fighters from regions like Dagestan but maintains that the depth and quality of American fighters are unparalleled.
A significant portion of the conversation centers around Covington’s political activities and charitable endeavors. He discusses his support for President Trump and the establishment of the America’s Champions Foundation, aimed at supporting military personnel and veterans. Covington mentions, “We’re having our tournament April 2nd... 100% of the proceeds are going back to our military and our veterans” (52:57).
Covington is candid about his frustrations with government spending, particularly regarding homelessness and foreign aid. He criticizes policies in states like California and emphasizes the need to prioritize domestic issues. “We have a lot of homeless people on the streets... Let’s clean up our own cities” (10:02).
The guest and host discuss the impact of cancel culture on free speech, especially within sports and social media. Covington shares his experiences with social media censorship, highlighting a significant loss of followers after aligning with Trump: “They made sure I was the biggest throttled account from the Republican side” (34:07). He lauds Donald Trump’s role in restoring free speech, stating, “We got back control of the government... now we do again” (37:58).
A critical segment focuses on the prevalence of steroids and performance-enhancing drugs in combat sports. Covington expresses disdain for cheaters, recounting instances where opponents might have used steroids: “I don’t know, just all the hate I get... I had a lot of friends on steroids and chemical imbalance” (03:07). He also discusses the limitations of current drug testing protocols, suggesting that many athletes still find ways to gain unfair advantages.
Covington reveals his passion for poker, aiming to become a top player alongside his fighting career. He explains, “I want to be the best poker player on the earth... It’s the same game plan I put on when I’m playing poker” (42:25). This dual focus showcases his strategic mindset both inside the octagon and at the poker table.
The conversation shifts to Covington's relationship with UFC President Dana White. He praises White for his support and opportunities, including facilitating his meeting with President Trump. Covington remarks, “Super thankful to Dana White for all the opportunities he gave me” (35:39). Looking ahead, he discusses his plans to continue climbing the UFC ranks post his coaching stint on The Ultimate Fighter.
As the episode wraps up, Covington promotes his upcoming charity poker tournament benefiting the military and veterans. He encourages listeners to participate and support the cause: “We’re having our tournament April 2nd at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino. 100% of the proceeds are going back to our military and veterans” (52:57).
Covington on Ultimate Fighter Motivation:
“I was that kid early in my career that just really wanted to get to the UFC...” (02:00)
On Being Driven by Hate:
“I’m driven by hate... I like to prove haters wrong...” (03:07)
Experiencing Death Threats:
“They put a $50,000 bounty on my head...” (04:18)
Supporting Trump and Free Speech:
“We got back control of the government... now we do again” (37:58)
Critique of Steroids in Sports:
“I don’t like cheaters... I fought a lot of cheaters...” (49:07)
Charity Event Promotion:
“We’re having our tournament April 2nd... 100% of the proceeds are going back to our military and veterans” (52:57)
This episode of Digital Social Hour offers an unfiltered glimpse into Colby Covington's perspectives on UFC, politics, social issues, and personal endeavors. Through candid discussions and provocative statements, Covington articulates his unwavering commitment to his beliefs and his athletes, while also highlighting the challenges and controversies that shape modern combat sports.