Colby Covington Clarifies He’s Not Playing A Character

Colby Covington made headlines recently when he revealed he was told he would be cut no matter the result against Demian Maia back in 2017.

Because of that, Covington started playing a heel to make headlines and effectively save his UFC career. In essence, Covington “broke kayfabe” by revealing that he was playing a character which drew a lot of reaction from the combat sports world.

But when asked about those comments, Covington clarified things — he is not playing a character, he is simply dialing his own personality up a notch:

“I’m not playing a character, I’m just being real,” Covington told MMA Junkie at Thursday’s UFC 245 media day. “I think they don’t know what they’re talking about. I think I’m just turning it up to 11. I’m not afraid to speak my mind and speak what I really think inside. Before I was keeping those thoughts in because I was worried about how people would judge me, how the media would react, how the UFC would judge me for it.

“Now I don’t give a (expletive). I would care less what they think of me. At the end of the day I’m what’s good for this sport and I’m making money for this company.”

If Covington was putting on an act just to get ahead and put money in his pocket, the whole thing would be worth it if he ends up beating Kamaru Usman for the welterweight title at UFC 245 this Saturday.

But don’t expect him to change things up if that is the case:

“I’m just going to be myself always,” Covington added. “I can’t say if I’m going to do one thing or not, I’m just going to be real. That’s what I’ve always been, is real. Maybe I’ll turn down some of the post-fight antics a little bit, but this is the entertainment show-business for a reason and I’m here to put on a show for the fans.

“It’s not just when you fight. You’ve got to entertain them year-round and that’s why the fans love me so much.”

What do you think of Covington’s comments?