Imagine an alternate reality in which we all woke up this morning after UFC 245, and [autotag]Colby Covington[/autotag] had not made a conscious decision two years ago to embrace the role of an over-the-top jerk.
Had Covington not done that, which admittedly played a large role in propelling him toward the highest-profile fights, it’s likely the mixed martial arts world would hail his show of heart and valor before falling in the final minute of his attempt to wrest the UFC welterweight championship from Kamaru Usman on Saturday night in Las Vegas. Instead, #MAGAJAW was trending on Twitter.
Covington suffered what the UFC later termed “a nondisplaced midline mandible fracture” from a tremendous straight right hand in the third round of what was already a compelling main event at T-Mobile Arena. Covington, however, refused to call it a night and pressed forward in what was a coin flip of a fight heading into the fifth round before Usman, showing true championship mettle, bit down on his mouthpiece and went to work, earning the stoppage victory with 50 seconds left.
Put anyone else on the UFC roster in Covington’s shoes, and his valiance in a losing effort would be lauded.
Instead, Covington’s loss turned into a parade of social media schadenfreude, as one person after another took turns celebrating the bad guy finally getting his comeuppance.
All the better, in the eyes of Colby haters, that he lost exactly the way he did, taking punch after punch after punch to that injured yapper and coming back for more, only to falter in the waning moments.
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If you’d been on the receiving end of some of his more hate-filled moments, this was even better than watching him suffer an early knockout loss.
Note we’ve yet to mention Covington’s outspoken support of President Donald Trump. The more easily triggered among Covington’s fans – the dim bulbs who are all set to go the comment section and write “don’t you get this was all a joke” – want to make this about Trump, but it’s not.
Covington going in with the MAGA crowd hardly makes him unique in the MMA business. Jorge Masvidal is a Trump supporter, and he’s beloved in the sport. Just last week, Bryce Mitchell shouted out Trump after his win at UFC on ESPN 7, and no one is sending hate his way, just admiration for what he’s done in the cage. That’s because Masvidal, Mitchell, and others like them haven’t gone out of their way to be obnoxious to everyone who’s crossed their paths.
Covington first gained notoriety by going into Brazil and calling an entire country’s worth of people “filthy animals.” He implied Miesha Tate deliberately leaked indecent photos on the internet to get attention. He went so far as to use the death of Blackzilians co-founder Glenn Robinson, the gym where Usman used to train, as promotional fodder, which prompted Robinson’s daughters to put out a public statement asking him to lay off.
Jon Jones called him a “really rotten person.” Yes, that Jon Jones.
Dana White got Covington an audience with Trump and even he ended up irritated with Covington, calling him “a big-mouth (expletive) idiot.”
If you’ve got this wide a swatch of people pissed off at you, you’ve probably missed the point. Chael Sonnen mastered the art of trash talk, but he did it with a wink and a nudge that suggested he knew you knew he was full of it, and he was always gracious in defeat. Conor McGregor, too, was smart enough to talk up his opponent’s skills and spirit after being defeated.
Covington, though, had none of Sonnen’s charm or McGregor’s nuance. People would play along with Sonnen and give him his due as both a fighter and especially as a salesman. Even McGregor’s fiercest critics give him a nod for his ability to envision goals and will them into existence on his way to the top. Covington is getting little in the way of similar grudging props in the wake of his big defeat.
Under all his bluster and bile, Covington is a phenomenal competitor. He’s a tremendous wrestler, an underrated striker, and has a gas tank for days. The path he took to get here, taking out top-flight opponents with styles as varied as Demian Maia, Rafael dos Anjos, and Robbie Lawler, was a tour de force.
And, yes, no matter how much you might hate him, his effort in the cage on Saturday night was one of the greatest you’ll see from someone who gives it his all and comes up just short.
Covington’s ability in the cage is the mix of heart and talent that will build a fan base over a long period of time, whether or not you get an initial promotional push from the UFC.
Instead, he chose a short cut and made it so that only his most die-hard supporters will appreciate the real talents underneath all his histrionics.
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