UFC fighter Colby Covington, left, attended the first presidential debate as a guest of then-President Donald Trump, right, at Case Western University and Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio, on Sept. 29, 2020. Trump continued to show his willingness to fight for the country at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando, Florida, on Feb. 26. (Patrick Semansky / AP ; John Raoux / AP)
By Grant Atkinson March 7, 2022 at 4:18pm
Following a decisive win in the UFC 272 main event on Saturday night, Colby Covington unabashedly threw his support behind former President Donald Trump.
“Mr. 45, President Trump — greatest living American and greatest president in history, man,” Covington said after defeating Jorge Masvidal via unanimous decision.
WARNING: The following media contains language some viewers may find offensive.
UFC Champ Colby Covington Calls Trump “Greatest President,” Then Completely ROASTS Biden Libs Right After Winning Fight pic.twitter.com/bF1hzXiMou
— Benny (@bennyjohnson) March 7, 2022
According to The Sporting News, Covington has been a Trump supporter since at least 2018. He visited Trump at the White House in August 2018 to celebrate his interim welterweight title belt.
But Covington did more than just support the former president following Saturday’s win. He also used his platform to heap criticism onto the current state of the country under President Joe Biden.
“The things [Trump] did for this country … All you liberals out there that say he didn’t, look at inflation, look at our open borders,” Covington said.
“Our f****** country’s going to s*** right now without him. So we need him back in 2024, Trump 2024, and you know he’s going to come back and make America great again.”
Do you agree with Covington?
Masvidal also has ties to Trump. He joined Donald Trump Jr. for a day-long event on the campaign trail in 2020 called “Fighters Against Socialism,” Business Insider reported.
In the week leading up to the fight, Masvidal said Covington was not a real Trump supporter and simply began talking to Trump for publicity.
“Ask him any question about Trump policy, or anything that Trump changed or didn’t change, and see what the f*** he tells you,” Masvidal told Insider.
“He can’t tell you s***. He just wanted to tie his name to something that was going up, whether people loved him or hated him. He was like, ‘Let me attach my name to that because I could get some fame for that.’”
Meanwhile, Covington said Masvidal did not make good on a promise to visit Trump in the White House and that he did not embrace conservative values.
“Jorge Masvidal is the definition of handouts,” Covington told Insider. “He used to use an Obama phone, food stamps from the government. He’s Fidel Castro Jr.
“The guy’s the definition of communism, and here he is trying to act like he’s a right-winger now. So it’s just funny — the hypocrisy.”
The veracity of these accusations is unclear, and the level of support each fighter showed for Trump likely did not play a role in the final outcome.
With that said, it is a nice change of pace to see two fighters arguing over which one likes Trump more. Conservatives have often been criticized for their political views in other major sports leagues, so the pro-freedom UFC is quite refreshing.
There is a legitimate argument to be made about the role politics should have in sports, but leftists are largely the ones who fueled the fusion of these two worlds. If they support athletes being able to speak out for woke causes, they also must admit Covington has every right to criticize Biden and his supporters.
Grant is a graduate of Virginia Tech with a bachelor’s degree in journalism. He has five years of writing experience with various outlets and enjoys covering politics and sports.
Grant is a graduate of Virginia Tech with a bachelor’s degree in journalism. He has five years of writing experience with various outlets and enjoys covering politics and sports.