{"id":37293,"date":"2026-03-18T21:56:33","date_gmt":"2026-03-18T21:56:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sherdog.com\/news\/news\/Covington-claims-fighters-have-no-say-in-UFC-negotiations-Theyll-freeze-you-out-200514"},"modified":"2026-03-18T21:56:33","modified_gmt":"2026-03-18T21:56:33","slug":"covington-claims-fighters-have-no-say-in-ufc-negotiations-theyll-freeze-you-out","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.martialartskleinanzeigen.com\/videos\/covington-claims-fighters-have-no-say-in-ufc-negotiations-theyll-freeze-you-out\/","title":{"rendered":"Covington claims fighters have ‘no say’ in UFC negotiations: ‘They\u2019ll freeze you out’"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\nColby Covington says he’s been iced out by the UFC. |
\nGetty\/UFC<\/b><\/p>\n


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Colby
\nCovington<\/a>\u2019s most recent layoff might not have been completely
\nby choice.<\/p>\n

During a recent Q&A session with streamer N3on, Covington
\naddressed the
\nUFC<\/a>\u2019s negotiating tactics. According to \u201cChaos,\u201d the promotion
\nplays hardball when it comes to matchmaking.<\/p>\n

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\u201cYou have no say,\u201d Covington said (transcription via MMAFighting.com<\/a>). \u201cHunter Campbell, who is like
\nthe UFC lawyer, he kind of just tells you what direction they\u2019re
\ngoing to go, and it\u2019s either you take it or leave it. So, you don\u2019t
\nreally get a choice what you want to do. They just leave you. They
\nice you. They won\u2019t give you fights. They\u2019ll just let you sit out
\nthere. They\u2019ll say, \u2018Hey, you turned down this fight, now you\u2019re
\nnot going to fight for the year. You\u2019re not going to make money.\u2019
\nThey\u2019ll freeze you out.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven if it\u2019s not a good move, and you\u2019re not getting paid what you
\nthink you deserve, it doesn\u2019t matter. They say, \u2018You either accept
\nit and be a company man, or we\u2019ll just ice you, and you don\u2019t get a
\nfight to make money.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Covington hasn\u2019t fought since December 2024, when he suffered a
\nthird-round doctor stoppage loss to Joaquin
\nBuckley<\/a> at UFC on ESPN 63. Despite the inactivity, the
\n38-year-old former interim welterweight king and multi-time title
\nchallenger is still a popular callout target within the promotion.
\nCovington wanted a spot on the
\nUFC White House<\/a> card but was left on the outside looking in
\nwhen pairings for the June 14 event were announced.<\/p>\n

Fighting for Legacy<\/h2>\n

In the meantime, Covington has found a new competitive outlet with
\nReal America Freestyle. The former national champion wrestler at
\nIowa Central Community College defeated Luke
\nRockhold<\/a> at RAF 5 on Jan. 10 and is slated to face Dillon
\nDanis<\/a> at RAF 7 on March 28. While Covington gives himself
\nanother \u201cyear or so\u201d in the UFC, he believes he can continue to
\nwrestle for \u201csix, seven, eight years, because it\u2019s low-impact.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, Covington still holds out hope that he\u2019ll get a booking
\nwith the UFC that intrigues him.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want big names,\u201d Covington said. \u201cI want something that gets me
\nexcited to get out of bed. They\u2019re talking about fighting nobodies
\nor no-names that do nothing for me. I would just be fighting for
\nmoney. I don\u2019t want to just fight for money. I want to fight for
\nlegacy.\u201d<\/p>\n