Colby Covington pays "beautiful" tribute to Chael Sonnen ahead of UFC Tampa fight: "Uncle Chael started me in this sport"
Colby Covington recently lavished praise on Chael Sonnen in the lead-up to his UFC Tampa showdown. 'Chaos' is poised to clash against Joaquin Buckley in the main event of UFC's final Fight Night of the year, set to take place this Saturday at the Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida.
At the ceremonial weigh-in on Friday, Covington invited Sonnen to join him for the evening, and, to everyone’s surprise, the UFC Hall of Famer even addressed the crowd on behalf of the former interim welterweight champion during the post-staredown interview with commentator Brendan Fitzgerald.
During a backstage interview with ESPN MMA, UFC correspondent Megan Olivi questioned Covington and Sonnen about their unexpected partnership. 'Chaos' expressed his delight at having Sonnen oversee his training camp and spoke highly of the guidance provided by the former UFC title challenger:
"He's been the greatest honor. Whatever Chael says goes. Uncle Chael started me in this sport. I wouldn't be doing mixed martial arts if it wasn't for him finding me in an Oregon State wrestling room, coming up to me, and saying, 'Hey, I want you to come train at Team Quest for me, get me ready for some fights, help me out,' and taking some butt-whippings from him over the years. I'm so thankful to have him in my corner. He inspires me."
Sonnen further extended his appreciation to Olivi for highlighting the question about his linkup with Covington:
"That was beautiful, by the way, Megan. Thank you for teeing him up; that was an early present to me right there."
Check out Colby Covington and Chael Sonnen's comments below (0:36):
Covington is coming off a unanimous decision loss to then-170-pound champion Leon Edwards at UFC 296 in December 2023, marking his third unsuccessful attempt to claim the undisputed title.
When Chael Sonnen lauded Colby Covington as one of the greatest welterweights
In a video on his YouTube channel in May 2022, Chael Sonnen said that Colby Covington deserves recognition as one of the greatest welterweights in MMA history, even though he has never held an undisputed title.
Sonnen contended that if it weren’t for the dominance of former longtime champion Kamaru Usman, 'Chaos' would undoubtedly reign as the champion of this era:
"I'm fully convinced at 170 [pounds] in any other era, Colby Covington is the champion of the world. Dana White went as far as to say if Kamaru Usman didn't exist, then Colby is the world champion. I watched Covington have an interim championship in which he never lost."
Check out Chael Sonnen's comments below (4:13):