Chaos by name, Chaos by nature; outspoken welterweight Colby ‘Chaos’ Covington is famous for giving one of the most shocking post-fight speeches in MMA history.
The insane speech was so inappropriate and hostile that it caused a near-riot in the stands, with groups of armed UFC fans even reportedly hunting Colby Covington down following the event.
A post-fight UFC speech so hostile that it almost started a riot in the stands
After getting his hand raised over Demian Maia back at UFC Fight Night: Sao Paulo in 2017, Covington would address the Brazilian crowd with one of the most infamous post-fight speeches in UFC history.
“Brazil, you’re a dump – all you filthy animals suck,” he screamed into the microphone as a stunned Daniel Cormier watched on in disbelief.
Almost immediately after those words left Covington, ‘chaos’ erupted in the stands with a tidal wave of boos drowning out much of the remainder of the interview.
And it didn’t get much better as the American exited the octagon, with some 15 security guards forced to shield the welterweight as various objects began to be hurled his way with vicious intent.
“We are taking the situation with Colby Covington very seriously,” stated Executive VP Dave Shaw at the post-fight press conference, revealing that Covington’s behavior was going to be “reviewed by our Code of Conduct Committee.”
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Covington reveals groups of armed fans hunted him after the speech
Speaking with Daniel Cormier a few years later, Covington would reveal that the response to his post-fight speech was so hostile that he needed round-the-clock protection from security to keep him safe.
In fact, Covington claimed that he needed armed security guards to be with him from the moment he exited the arena, all the way to the fighter hotel; where they reportedly stayed to plan an exit strategy, just in case someone tried attacking him.
“They were loaded like secret service Brazilian guards who had guns and everything. They were like, ‘Hey, we’ve got to get you out through like, this crazy exit [from the arena] in the bottom, and we’ve got to take you to the hotel early. And you’ve got to wear glasses and cover yourself with a hoodie and a hat.’
“They were like, ‘You’ve got to go in disguise. We can’t have you out.’ That’s why they wouldn’t let me do a post-fight press conference after the fight because there was like, a bunch of Brazilians surrounded the arena like, with guns and knives and forks.”
It wasn’t just the promotion and fanbase who were outraged by Covington’s speech, even his own teammates almost turned their back on him after putting their safety on the line.
“That’s when I remember my whole team was like, yelling, ‘Man, you put all our lives at risk; not just yourself… Like, they’re going to want to kill us all now.’ So, they were all pissed at me.”
Colby Covington credits ‘Filthy Animals’ speech for saving his UFC career
Whilst Covington might be one of the most hated MMA fighters in all of Brazil, the brash American actually credits that infamous moment for saving his UFC career.
In an interview with Candace Owens, Covington stated that prior to his fight with Maia, the UFC was considering cutting him from the roster over his perceived ‘boring’ fight style and personality.
“They had told my manager Dan Lambert that they weren’t going to re-sign me. They didn’t like my style. They didn’t like that I wasn’t entertaining, and this is before I really started to become an entertainer and understand the entertainment aspect of this business.
“So I go and shoot this promo, and I wasn’t supposed to have my job, but that promo goes so viral on the internet, the UFC’s like, ‘We have to keep him, we have to re-sign him because that promo was so big.’”
Covington, who returns to action at UFC Fight Night: Tampa this coming weekend, acknowledged “That’s what saved my career, that was the turning point of my career and the rest has been history.”
Covington takes on Joaquin Buckley in the main event of UFC Tampa, scheduled for Saturday, December 14.