Colby Covington Retires From MMA

Former UFC interim welterweight champion Colby Covington (17-5) has told the UFC that he has decided to retire from MMA following a 13-year career in the sport.

The 38-year-old Covington last competed in December 2024, suffering a third-round stoppage loss to Joaquin Buckley. He finishes with a 12-5 record in the UFC (17-5 MMA), with victories over Jorge Masvidal, Tyron Woodley, Rafael dos Anjos and Robbie Lawler….a fight in which Colby set a then-UFC record for throwing 541 strikes. Covington, who was one of the best and most polarizing welterweights of the past decade, had legendary rivalries with Masvidal, Kamaru Usman, and Leon Edwards, and was waiting on his next UFC fight, which never came to fruition.

The timing of the retirement is unexpected given that Covington had been publicly pushing for a place on the UFC Freedom 250 card on June 14. Despite being frustrated over not being booked at the White House event, Covington said he still “loves the UFC”. Although Colby won’t be fighting inside the Octagon anymore, we will continue to fight on the mats – he has already defeated Luke Rockhold and Dillon Danis in Real American Freestyle matches this year and is scheduled to wrestle Chris Weidman on May 30 in Texas.