Colby Covington (17-5 MMA, 12-5 UFC) turns 38 on February 22. It’s been a long time since he last set foot in the legendary Octagon. On December 14, 2024, UFC Tampa served as the card where the one nicknamed “Chaos” would make his final appearance.
Flanked by the late Hulk Hogan at his side and with the departed Hogan’s Truly American With the theme song blasting from the loudspeaker, Covington entered the Octagon for a five-round battle to headline the final card of 2024. It would prove to be a forgettable night for Colby Covington, who suffered a cut above his eye in the third round of the fight.
The doctor intervened and stopped the fight to prevent further damage to Covington’s vision. Earlier this year, Colby Covington turned to freestyle wrestling in Real American Freestyle out of Sunrise, FL. This time his fortunes would improve.
During his Main Event match at RAF 05 against Luke Rockhold, Colby Covington had his hand raised in the win due to a technical fall. As we head into 2026, there is one card on the minds of more UFC mainstays than any other show.
Colby Covington renews interest in fighting on UFC White House Card on June 14
On the night of June 14, a one-off event, UFC White House, will take place on the White House lawn in Washington, DC. While UFC CEO Dana White has said so matchmaking for the map is complete in comments made at Zuffa Boxing 03’s post-fight press conference late Sunday, he still isn’t saying which exact fights will take place on the show.
Covington is one of several fighters keen to compete at UFC White House in late spring, having already expressed interest in putting himself on the card following his bout at RAF 05. Recently: “Chaos” sat down for an interview with Valuetainment comedies HotCakes and Hot Takes to talk about his prospects for the June 14 show.
“I negotiated with the UFC for the White House card,” Colby Covington began. ‘That’s him [fight] that I want. I told them [that] this is important to my legacy and important to my career. This would be the biggest fight I ever had. It’s a fight on the South Lawn [of The White House] to the president [and it] would be the greatest honor of my career.”
Could we see Colby Covington vs. Paddy Pimblett at UFC White House in June?
In late January, UFC 324 served as the first flagship event and the first event on the 2026 UFC calendar. The night’s main event now saw No. 6 contender Paddy Pimblett (23-4 MMA, 7-1 UFC) fall under the UFC promotional banner for the first time in a unanimous decision loss to current interim champion Justin Gaethje (27-5 MMA, 10-5 UFC).
Colby Covington expressed his interest in fighting “The Baddy” in the return match for both men. In true Covington fashion, he held nothing back when talking about his personal appearance.
“I would love the fight with Paddy Pimblett,” he said. “He had expressed interest that he might want to move up a weight class to welterweight. He’s cutting down a lot to get to 155. The kid weighs about 200. He looks like (expletive deleted.) Even the doctors told him, ‘Dude, your organs are going to fail if you keep cutting down to lightweight.'”
Returning to the potential fight itself, Covington said a matchup against Pimblett is one that harkens back to the early history of the United States.
“I love that fight,” he said. “It’s an American versus British fight. I don’t want to fight an American on an American card on America’s 250th anniversary.”
Final thoughts
At RAF 05’s post-fight press conference on January 10, Colby Covington said he wanted no part of fighting Bo Nickal in a UFC return bout, calling him Bozo Nickles. On Sunday, Bo asked Nickal himself weighed to Covington’s social media interview, simply saying, “Man up and accept your beat.”
Bo Nickal’s rebuttal aside, the potential battle between Colby Covington and Paddy Pimblett could get interesting. You would have two experienced fighters coming in after a loss and the latter would be competing at welterweight for the first time.
While nothing is set in stone for UFC White House in less than four months, only time will tell if this fight becomes a reality.
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