Colby Covington has voiced significant disappointment regarding the upcoming UFC Freedom 250 event. A fervent supporter of U.S. President Donald Trump, Covington had publicly expressed his desire to compete at the White House card, even proposing matchups against Paddy Pimblett and Bo Nickal. However, the UFC ultimately did not include him in the June 14 lineup.
Following the official announcement of the UFC Freedom 250 bouts, widespread dissatisfaction emerged within the MMA community, including from Covington himself. “Chaos” not only lamented his exclusion but also sharply criticized the quality of the fights scheduled for the South Lawn of the White House.
In a recent interview, Covington labeled the White House card “terrible and disorganized,” suggesting a decline in the promotion’s commitment. He elaborated, “It’s piss poor at best. The fans have spoken; they said they hate it. It’s a terrible card. They promised 6 or 7 title fights, now they have one title fight and an interim title fight they just put together last minute. The thing was so disorganized. They put it together last minute, there wasn’t any big high ranking American fighters. Who are the guys representing America on the 250th birthday of America? It seems like they don’t care anymore. They made all that money with Paramount, and they’re just happy. It is what it is.”
Covington also revealed that Hunter Campbell indicated he is expected to face the winner of the UFC Winnipeg headliner between Mike Malott and Gilbert Burns.
Bo Nickal Believes Colby Covington Turned Down Opportunity to Fight Him at White House
UFC middleweight Bo Nickal contends that Colby Covington deliberately declined an opportunity to fight him at the White House. Nickal, now confirmed for the UFC Freedom 250 card against Kyle Daukaus, had previously sought a confrontation with Covington over past derogatory remarks.
Nickal alleged in an interview that UFC matchmakers offered Covington the fight at the White House, but “Chaos” refused. Nickal stated, “The [UFC] told him, ‘If you want to be on this card, you have to fight Bo,’ and he said no. He would rather be a coward and not fight me than be on the White House card, which is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Everyone knows it would basically be like leading a lamb to slaughter… In one sense, I understand, because you’re literally going out there just to get killed.”