Colby Covington has quickly captured the title of mixed martial arts (MMA) villain, as the brash Welterweight doesn’t seem to have a filter when it comes to his mouth and actions … just ask Brazil.
Indeed, whether it’s insulting an entire nation, his own teammates or massive heavyweights, “Chaos” will take on any and all comers. Still, though, his shtick has been wearing thin on some — even his own employers — while there are a few who can appreciate Covington’s persona, including the original “bad guy” himself, Chael Sonnen.
“I love him, I think he is a ton of fun and I think what Werdum did was a scumbag move. That’s the second time Werdum has done this, let’s not forget that last time he did it was with a 155-pound Tony Ferguson. It’s just really weird,” said Sonnen on a recent edition of “The MMA Hour.”
Known for ruffling a few feathers of his own — including Brazilian ones — Sonnen says Covington is doing what he has to do to get noticed and get his time to shine. And he is quick to remind everyone that Covington isn’t doing anything different than anyone else in the past.
“As far as Colby goes, listen man, if you want to make an omelette you have to crack a few eggs. What the hell is he doing wrong? I will remind you, I have known Tyron Woodley from way back when and I saw Tyron do the same thing. He had a different approach, but don’t make any mistake, Tyron stuck his finger in every single chest and used every single microphone he had to to get his opportunity.
“He even said he’d fight his own teammate, he did and he knocked him out,” Sonnen continued. “He wanted to climb the mountain and wouldn’t let anything stop him and Colby is doing the same thing. I don’t think anyone can judge Colby in some unfair light. He’s got his own approach, he is being himself, this isn’t a act as I have known him since he was 11 years old. He grew up two hours away from my front door. He’s been a rough guy his whole life, he’s been wanting to get into UFC since high school, college, he had his dream here he is and he’s want to get some notice and boom. What the hell is wrong with that?”
Sonnen, meanwhile, wrote the book on how to market yourself, using his way with words to score huge title fights against Anderson Silva (twice). And while it seems Covington is mirroring Sonnen’s ways, Chael says “Chaos” is doing it his own way and making great moves to get noticed and steal headlines.
Whether you like it or not.