Colby Covington retires from UFC

Colby Covington is done as an active UFC fighter. The former interim welterweight champion has notified the promotion of his retirement, and his name is no longer moving with the rest of the 170-pound division.

For UFC fans, this is not just a small roster update. Covington was one of the loudest names in the welterweight division for years. He won big fights, lost big title fights, talked more than almost anyone around him, and made people react every time his name was on a card.

His last UFC fight came against Joaquin Buckley in December 2024. That night did not look like a soft ending. Covington was beaten up, cut badly, and stopped in the third round. After that, the road back to a serious UFC run was always going to be hard.

Now that road looks closed. Covington leaves the UFC with a 12-5 record in the promotion. He was an interim champion, fought three times for undisputed UFC gold, and shared the cage with Kamaru Usman, Leon Edwards, Rafael dos Anjos, Jorge Masvidal, Tyron Woodley and Robbie Lawler.

A loud UFC career ends

Covington was never a quiet contender. That was the whole point. He pushed himself into major fights with pressure wrestling, pace, trash talk, and a public image that fans either loved or hated. There was rarely a calm reaction to him.

Inside the cage, he had a simple style that worked for a long time. He wrestled, pushed forward, made opponents work, and turned fights into long, uncomfortable rounds. At his best, he could drown strong fighters with volume and control.

The title fights are the part people will remember most. Covington gave Kamaru Usman two hard nights, but he never got the undisputed belt. He later fought Leon Edwards, but that fight showed a different picture. Covington looked slower, less sharp, and unable to force the kind of pace that had once made him so difficult.

Against Buckley, the gap looked even clearer. Buckley was faster, fresher, and more dangerous in the exchanges. Covington still had the name, but the division had moved. That happens fast at welterweight.

• Covington retires as a former interim UFC welterweight champion.
• He fought for the undisputed UFC title three times.
• His final UFC fight was the loss to Joaquin Buckley.
• He is now focused on wrestling outside the UFC.

Covington turns to RAF wrestling

Retirement from the UFC does not mean Covington is leaving combat sports completely. He has already moved into Real American Freestyle wrestling, and that path now looks like his main focus.

That move fits him. Before all the noise, Covington was always a wrestler. His best UFC work came from that base. He could chain takedowns, force scrambles, and make opponents fight tired. In wrestling, he can keep using the part of his game that carried him for most of his career.

He has already wrestled names familiar to MMA fans, including Luke Rockhold and Dillon Danis. His next match is scheduled against former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman on May 30. That keeps Covington close to the UFC audience, even without another Octagon walk.

Welterweight moves on

Covington’s exit also clears space in a division that has already changed around him. The current welterweight picture is not built around the same names anymore. New contenders are trying to move up, former champions are trying to stay relevant, and the pace of the division is different from the one Covington once helped control.

That is why this retirement feels natural, even if the name still gets attention. Covington had been pushing for big opportunities, including a spot around the UFC White House card, but the promotion went in another direction. Once that kind of stage was gone, it became harder to see what fight made real sense for him.

He could still talk his way into attention. He could still sell a rivalry. But selling the fight and winning the fight are different things, and the last few years made that clear.

Covington leaves with a strange UFC legacy. He was successful, annoying, tough, loud, skilled, and hard to ignore. He never became undisputed champion, but he was not just another contender either. He helped shape a messy, heated welterweight era, and fans will remember him whether they liked him or not.

Now the UFC part of his career is over. The next chapter is on the wrestling mat, where Chris Weidman is waiting and Covington can still keep his name in the fight game without chasing another UFC title run.