Colby Covington would receive a UFC return under one condition.
Covington (17-5 MMA, 12-5 UFC) has not competed since a stoppage loss to Joaquin Buckley in December 2024. He has been the UFC’s best interim champion since he flourished under the True American Freestyle banner, where he captured the cruiserweight title.
Advertisement
The 38-year-old insists that he has not retired from MMA competition, and that he could fight again if he is against a worthy opponent.
“Without question, if it’s a big name and it’s a big fight that gets me in the morning, then I’m going to do it,” Covington told MMA Junkie. “You have these contracts and big fights give you a lot of money. If you just fight or just fight and come, you’re in this (low) paygrade. If I’m getting a lot of money, I fight a big fight, then I come and get excited. But only for someone to come back and fight, you’re in this (low) paygrade. If I’m getting a lot of money, I fight a big fight, then I come and get excited. But only for him to come back and fight If you’re getting a big fight, then I’m excited. If you’re getting a big fight, then you’re excited just to come back and fight, you are in this (low) paygrade. If you pay big money, then I am excited.
“If there’s a big fight that adds to my legacy and I can be woken up to get up at sixteen in the morning and do some hard training, then that’s what I’ll come back to. I don’t have a name at the top of my mind, but big names. Obviously, you’re probably not going to give me a guy like Conor (McGregor), but that would be big, in the game of the big ones (Nate) Diaz. as I have. Big fights only. Who knows, we’ll see what happens, but the door is never closed. You see what I’m doing at RAF. Look at Arman, he’s in my prime, and I smashed him. I know I could do that in the UFC, too.
Covington defends the RAF cruiserweight crossover title against Khamzat Chimaev on Nov. 14 in the main event at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi (FOX Nation).
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Colby Covington wants to make UFC return for ‘great fight that adds to his legacy’