Colby Covington unveils how being bullied in his freshman year of high school served as a catalyst for his success in combat sports
UFC welterweight challenger Colby Covington is set to feature in his fourth title fight in the octagon at UFC 296.
Covington will take on Leon Edwards at the closing pay-per-view of the year for the welterweight title, and he recently sat down with ESPN MMA's Brett Okamoto to discuss the fight.
He revealed the origins of his mixed martial arts journey and what drove him to reach the pinnacle of the sport. 'Chaos' recounted being bullied in high school for his size and teeth:
“I think as a little kid, I was a smaller little kid. Like freshman year of high school, I was a hundred pounds so I got picked on a lot. I got bullied and I always got picked on. Through middle school and elementary school, kids made fun of my teeth, ‘Oh you got a field goal post in the middle of your teeth,’ 'cause I had some buck teeth. I would get this anger inside, I’m like man, but I would channel that energy..."
Colby Covington narrated how he would put in the hours at the wrestling room to achieve his dream:
"I would go the wrestling room and I would drill my takedowns. I’d be like, 'Yeah, you want to talk about my teeth?' And I would just drill double leg takedowns over and over, hundreds and thousands repetitions. And I would do things that most kids didn’t want to do. They didn’t want to sweat, they didn’t want to get bloody, but I knew my dreams were more important.”
Check out his full comments in the interview with ESPN on YouTube [2:25]:
Colby Covington blasts 'unprofessional' Khamzat Chimaev for not agreeing to fight him
Colby Covington has not been in action since March 2022, when he took on his former friend Jorge Masvidal.
He explained his lack of activity in the interview with ESPN by blaming UFC unbeaten sensation Khamzat Chimaev for refusing to face off against him in a big money fight.
'Chaos' also named former interim lightweight champ Dustin Poirier as one of the potential opponents who turned him down.
Colby Covington said:
"[UFC] were looking at setting up that fight with that mother****er, Khamzat Chimaev but he's unprofessional. He's a clown... They gave him the easiest fight to set up to get this big money fight in Colby 'Chaos' Covington. He couldn't pass the test. That's what's been the delay - other fighters not agreeing to the fight and not doing business for the UFC... I accepted every single fight they offered - Khamzat Chimaev, Dustin Poirier..."
Check out his comments below: