Colby Covington reacts to John Oliver’s recent segment on WWE on talent treatment and compared it to how the UFC is with its fighters.
Television personality John Oliver recently did a WWE segment on his HBO show “Last Week Tonight,” where he covered how the company treats its talents. In a nutshell, he criticized the sports entertainment giant for how it managed the athlete roster, based on collected data and statements from former superstars like Bret “The Hitman” Hart and Jesse Ventura.
But according to welterweight contender Colby Covington, the UFC is still way worse when it comes to athlete treatment.
”You can’t even compare the two. I mean, WWE, they’re not making $10,000 pay checks, those guys are getting paid, man,” Covington told Submission Radio. “They’re all making at least $500k plus a year minimum. Most of them are making multi-millions a year, with their t-shirt deals they’re making even more. And I’m pretty sure all those guys get health insurance and retirement benefits.
“We don’t get none of that sh-t in the UFC, we don’t get no health care unless we’re fighting. Last time I was in training camp and I broke my hand, I had to pay for that out of pocket. Like, that wouldn’t happen in the WWE. So, they don’t even compare. There’s no parallel to it, man.
“The UFC, we get paid like dog sh-t,” he continued. “It’s pennies over here, and he has no idea, man. If he came and looked into the books and really did some research into the UFC man, there’s no parallel, everyone’s getting taken advantage of in the UFC.”
Covington does have his grievances with the UFC, which at one point, led to him demanding to be released from the company. He still holds these grudges and plans to “expose” the UFC through a platform like Oliver’s show.
“Yeah, for sure man. I’m the right guy for it,” he said. “Like, obviously I speak my mind and I say how I feel, and I’m also not scared of losing my job, man. Some of these guys, they’re so scared to lose their job. Obviously, I stood up to the UFC brass, I stood up to Dana White. I didn’t give a f—k, dude. I was willing to lose my job.
“So yeah, definitely I’ll speak to the guy and speak truth. And if fans are starting to come around and start to like me more, they’re starting to see all the truth I speak and how I speak stuff into existence and how I believe in the power of manifestation.
“You know, the people can get behind that because I’m real,” he added. “I definitely would love to talk to him.”
Covington is slated to be Kamaru Usman’s first title challenger as the newly-minted welterweight champion. The date and venue of the fight, however, has yet to be determined, but Colby expects it to happen in August.