"That’s what saved my career" - When Colby Covington revealed the reasoning behind infamous Brazil rant

Colby Covington at UFC Fight Night: Sao Paulo [Image courtesy of UFC on YouTube]

Back in 2017, Colby Covington left viewers stunned with his infamous rant about Brazil while also calling out Tyron Woodley. After 'Chaos' beat Demian Maia via unanimous decision at UFC Fight Night in Sao Paulo, he went on to call the South American country a "dump" and the Brazilians in attendance "filthy animals."

The crowd continued to boo Covington, and the translator didn't translate the American's monolog. This resulted in visibly awkward tension between Daniel Cormier, the translator, and 'Chaos' in the octagon. Covington stated in his in-cage interview:

"I should have knocked him [Maia] out. Brazil you're a dump, all you filthy animals suck! I got one thing to say, Tyron Woodley I'm coming for you. If you don't answer the front door, I'm gonna knock it in and take what's mine, that welterweight belt!"

Watch the infamous post-fight interview here:

However, when Colby Covington later reflected on this, he didn't seem embarrassed or remorseful about what he said but went on to explain that the rant saved his career.

In 2019, while speaking on The Candace Owens Show, Covington explained that the UFC was planning to end his contract after the Demian Maia bout due to the American's lack of entertainment value. This caused 'Chaos' to make his infamous callout post-fight:

"So before this fight, they told me no matter what happens – I was ranked No.6 in the world – we’re not re-signing you... So I go and shoot this promo, and I wasn’t supposed to have my job, but that promo goes so viral on the internet, the UFC’s like, ‘We have to keep him. We have to re-sign him because that promo was so big,’ so that’s what saved my career, and that was the turning point of my career and the rest has been history."

Watch the full interview with Candace Owens here:

Did Colby Covington fight Tyron Woodley after his Brazil callout?

After beating Demian Maia at UFC Fight Night 119 in Brazil, Colby Covington didn't fight Tyron Woodley straight away. Instead, 'Chaos' faced Rafael dos Anjos for the interim UFC welterweight title at UFC 225. Covington beat the Brazilian via unanimous decision, but didn't get a shot at the official UFC welterweight belt until fighting Kamaru Usman in 2019.

The Nigerian-born American managed to finish 'Chaos' in round five and defend his belt. It wasn't until 2020 that Covington would finally face Tyron Woodley. 'Chaos' won in round five of the much anticipated bout.

Colby Covington is back in the win column after settling his bad blood with Tyron Woodley at #UFCVegas11 https://t.co/TXEtnXlJla

Since facing his old foe Tyron Woodley, Colby Covington has had mixed success in the UFC. 'Chaos' remtached Usman, but the result stayed the same with the welterweight champion once again victorious. However, Covington got an impressive win in his most recent bout, beating friend-turned-rival Jorge Masvidal via unanimous decision.