Warlley Alves, the first man to defeat Colby Covington in professional mixed martial arts, has left the UFC after a decade under its banner. Alves joined the UFC as an undefeated athlete, winning The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil 3 in 2014. He went on to compete 16 times inside the Octagon, emerging victorious from eight of […]
Warlley Alves, the first man to defeat Colby Covington in professional mixed martial arts, has left the UFC after a decade under its banner.
Alves joined the UFC as an undefeated athlete, winning The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil 3 in 2014. He went on to compete 16 times inside the Octagon, emerging victorious from eight of those fights.
By far the most prominent name on his record’s win column is Covington. The 34-year-old submitted “Chaos” at UFC 194 in 2015, ending the then-future interim welterweight champion’s undefeated run in the sport.
Warlley Alves(9-0) vs Colby “Chaos” Covington(8-0)
While that result left Alves with a perfect 4-0 UFC record, he struggled with consistency across his remaining years in the UFC.
And his stint on MMA’s biggest stage ends off the back of four straight losses, the most recent of which came via decision at the hands of Abusupiyan Magomedov inside the Apex last May.
The Brazilian’s UFC departure was first reported by MMA Fighting’s Guilherme Cruz. It remains to be seen what comes next in MMA for Alves, who is a free agent after a decade-long tenure with the sport’s leading promotion.
Colby Covington didn’t seem to get the response he was after when bumping into former bitter rival Kamaru Usman at Saturday’s UFC event at the Apex. The polarizing former interim welterweight champion was in attendance this weekend as the mixed martial arts leader staged its latest UFC Fight Night in Las Vegas. As has often […]
Colby Covington didn’t seem to get the response he was after when bumping into former bitter rival Kamaru Usman at Saturday’s UFC event at the Apex.
The polarizing former interim welterweight champion was in attendance this weekend as the mixed martial arts leader staged its latest UFC Fight Night in Las Vegas.
As has often been the case in recent weeks and months, “Chaos” was streaming live on his Twitch account. And while speaking to his followers, Covington crossed paths with one of the night’s ESPN desk analysts, whom it’s fair to say he’s more than familiar with.
But while his and Usman’s feud is far from as heated as it was when they shared the Octagon twice a number of years ago, Covington’s attempt to initiate a conversation looked to be brushed off by the former undisputed champ.
“Yes, that was Usman guys,” Covington said after the awkward interaction. “I don’t think he wanted to talk on the stream ’cause he didn’t want the chat to hear what he had to say. But yeah, we’ll definitely chop it up a little bit. Maybe we’ll get a picture, or maybe we’ll just fight. You never know, when ‘Chaos’ is in the building, it’s unpredictable. … No hard feelings.”
Two of Covington’s three failed attempts at reaching the welterweight throne came opposite Usman at UFC 245 in 2019 and UFC 268 in 2021. While he was stopped in the fifth frame first time around, “Chaos” was unable to outpoint the then-champ in the rematch two years later.
Since then, the 36-year-old has gone 1-2, defeating Jorge Masvidal but losing emphatically to both Leon Edwards and Joaquin Buckley. His future is uncertain in 2025 following his setback at the hands of “New Mansa” last December.
“I would say probably like two years,” Covington said on his YouTube channel. “I want to really start working on my in-ring wrestling and my crowd-pleasing ability in the next year or two.
“Maybe I’ll go up to Orlando and go to the WWE training center. But I want to really start perfecting my craft in the WWE and the wrestling moves, and hopefully I can make a transition in the next year or two.”
While some have suggested that Covington’s ability to sell fights and talk his way into undeserved title opportunities would serve him well in WWE, there are plenty of others who think Covington would be in way over his head trying to pull off his cringey trash-talk in front of 20,000 unforgiving pro wrestling fans.
“Colby’s promo are so bad idk if he can cut it in the WWE,” @MMAJOEYC wrote in response to Covington’s statement. “I’m not super familiar but I doubt they give you title shots purely based on if you suck Trump’s dick publicly or not.”
“I think we are underestimating how hard it is to cut promos in WWE and this man already struggles to deliver pre-written lines at UFC press conferences,” ADC MMA added.
“Colby would have no strengths in WWE,” TKO Talk wrote. “No height. No weight. No persona. WWE would write him to lean into. We all know he cant cut promos [see: ‘takin’ lerds munch monies]. He doesn’t have a strong fan base to carry him into rebranding. He is coming off a two fight skid. The WWE Champions are are giant men in comparison. Cain Velasquez showed up for Brock and physically looked like a fan more than a wrestler. Colby would fare far worse.
“They would absolutely not allow him to say the shit he has said in the past. Maybe a greaseball Manager but again- dude fumbles his words consistently. Would whip CM Punks ass in a fight. Wouldn’t be able to touch him in a wrestling ring, or come close to cutting any type of effective promo.”
“He cant fight anyways maybe its better for him,” @KOofTheDay quipped.
“He’s already washed, might as well go now,” @WhatsALegKick wrote matter-of-factly.
Colby Covington Discusses UFC Return in 2025
While Colby Covington’s move to WWE may be still a few years off (if ever), ‘Chaos’ is ready to get back to work and back inside the Octagon.
Offering some insight into his next fight, Covington claimed he’s ready to get the ball rolling once the UFC locks down a suitable opponent, but he’ll want a full 12-week fight camp to get ready after supposedly coming straight off the couch to fight Joaquin Buckley in December.
“Hopefully I’ll be back in there in the next three months,” Covington said. “I want a 12-week training camp. Coming off the last fight, I didn’t get a training camp. I didn’t train at all. Just showed up because I’m a company man, love this company more than anything. So now, I just really want to make sure that I get a full training camp – so I’m at my best, so people can see the real Colby, and we’ll beat anybody in the world when we get a full training camp.
“Whenever the UFC can find a good opponent, a big name that makes the company business, then we’ll get into a 12-week training camp. Bring them all.”
Joaquin Buckley doesn’t appreciate Chael Sonnen trying to downplay his win over Colby Covington in December. Closing out the…
Joaquin Buckley doesn’t appreciate Chael Sonnen trying to downplay his win over Colby Covington in December.
Closing out the UFC’s year in sunny Tampa, Florida, ‘New Mansa’ delivered a dominant performance against the former three-time title challenger, earning a doctor’s stoppage TKO in the third round of their welterweight headliner.
Sonnen, who was in Covington’s corner that new, ultimately threw in the towel after Covington sustained a nasty cut over his right eyelid. But despite watching his fighter get bloodied and battered for nearly three full rounds, ‘The American Gangster’ did his best to console Covington backstage.
In a video clip, which you can see below, Sonnen went through a list of things ‘Chaos’ did well and suggested that the outspoken Trump supporter was beginning to “turn the tide” before the stoppage came.
"That does not count, I do not accept that"
Coach Chael Sonnen with words of encouragement for Colby Covington after his loss at #UFCTampa…
Needless to say, Buckley didn’t appreciate Sonnen trying to discredit the biggest win of his career.
“It’s big Cap from Chael, you know,” Buckley said of Sonnen’s post-fight comments during an interview with Parry Punch. “Sometimes you gonna say whatever you got to say in order to, you know, protect Colby. But, you know, people saw it. You know what I mean? People—people saw the fight. They can already see that I was not slowing down. I was actually picking up the pace.”
Joaquin Buckley wants to headline UFC Kansas City with Kamaru Usman
Following his win over Covington, Buckley called for a clash with former UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman. ‘New Mansa’ echoed that same sentiment later on in his interview with Parry Punch, suggesting the two could headline the promotion’s return to Kansas City on April 26.
Unfortunately for Buckley, Usman doesn’t sound too interested in fighting the rising contender. At least, not yet.
UFC welterweight contender Colby Covington will be returning the favor after having Chael Sonnen in his corner late last year in Tampa. During the UFC 311 pay-per-view broadcast last month, the promotion announced the coaching lineup for its upcoming 33rd edition of The Ultimate Fighter reality series. While the show traditionally pitches active fighters against […]
UFC welterweight contender Colby Covington will be returning the favor after having Chael Sonnen in his corner late last year in Tampa.
While the show traditionally pitches active fighters against each other as they coach teams before doing battle themselves inside the cage, this year will see two former competitors and current podcast co-hosts lead the rosters.
Ex-title challenger Sonnen and former two-division UFC champion Daniel Cormier will take a break from discussing the world of MMA on ESPN’s Good Guy/Bad Guy show to go head-to-head as TUF coaches.
And in a recent interview with MMA Junkie, Sonnen became the first to divulge which prominent names he’s adding to his coaching team for the season, including Covington.
“The head coach will be Clayton Hires,” Sonnen said. “Clayton Hires is my coach, he’s my mentor. He is not my assistant ever. He will be the boss. I will have on the jersey: ‘Clayton’s Team.’ It will consist of me, it will consist of ‘Cowboy’ Steve. He’s going to do what generally Mike Dolce would do in terms of helping these guys with their weight, their nutrition, their strength and conditioning.
“I would never do an Ultimate Fighter (series) without bringing the greatest grappler, Vinny Magalhaes. The last man to beat Gordon Ryan I might add, and he beat Gordon easily. That’s just the truth,” Sonnen continued. “And Colby Covington. Colby is going to to come in.”
Sonnen was notably in Covington’s corner for his unsuccessful UFC Fight Night main event opposite Joaquin Buckley last December. “Chaos” lost by way of doctor’s stoppage after sustaining damage that “The Bad Guy” admitted left him pondering throwing in the towel.
Season 33 of TUF is set to air every Tuesday on ESPN2, ESPN Deportes, and ESPN+ from May 27, 2025.
UFC welterweight contender Colby Covington will be returning the favor after having Chael Sonnen in his corner late last year in Tampa. During the UFC 311 pay-per-view broadcast last month, the promotion announced the coaching lineup for its upcoming 33rd edition of The Ultimate Fighter reality series. While the show traditionally pitches active fighters against […]
UFC welterweight contender Colby Covington will be returning the favor after having Chael Sonnen in his corner late last year in Tampa.
While the show traditionally pitches active fighters against each other as they coach teams before doing battle themselves inside the cage, this year will see two former competitors and current podcast co-hosts lead the rosters.
Ex-title challenger Sonnen and former two-division UFC champion Daniel Cormier will take a break from discussing the world of MMA on ESPN’s Good Guy/Bad Guy show to go head-to-head as TUF coaches.
And in a recent interview with MMA Junkie, Sonnen became the first to divulge which prominent names he’s adding to his coaching team for the season, including Covington.
“The head coach will be Clayton Hires,” Sonnen said. “Clayton Hires is my coach, he’s my mentor. He is not my assistant ever. He will be the boss. I will have on the jersey: ‘Clayton’s Team.’ It will consist of me, it will consist of ‘Cowboy’ Steve. He’s going to do what generally Mike Dolce would do in terms of helping these guys with their weight, their nutrition, their strength and conditioning.
“I would never do an Ultimate Fighter (series) without bringing the greatest grappler, Vinny Magalhaes. The last man to beat Gordon Ryan I might add, and he beat Gordon easily. That’s just the truth,” Sonnen continued. “And Colby Covington. Colby is going to to come in.”
Sonnen was notably in Covington’s corner for his unsuccessful UFC Fight Night main event opposite Joaquin Buckley last December. “Chaos” lost by way of doctor’s stoppage after sustaining damage that “The Bad Guy” admitted left him pondering throwing in the towel.
Season 33 of TUF is set to air every Tuesday on ESPN2, ESPN Deportes, and ESPN+ from May 27, 2025.
Sorry Colby Covington, nobody wants to see you in WWE. Earlier this week, the three-time UFC title challenger revealed…
Joaquin Buckley doesn’t appreciate Chael Sonnen trying to downplay his win over Colby Covington in December. Closing out the…
