Aging Colby Covington struggling to maintain ‘bully’ behavior: ‘It’s not genuine’

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Colby Covington has been awful quiet lately.

That’s a strange look for a man who once continued to talk trash and assert his presence despite having a broken jaw, given to him by the man he spent months dissing. Generally, “Chaos” has remained rather committed to the cocky, All-American persona he once claimed saved him from getting released from the UFC roster.

Until now?

During a recent run-in with Paddy Pimblett, Covington allegedly went silent and avoided eye contact. On the whole, he’s been rather quiet since getting pummeled by Joaquin Buckley at UFC Tampa back in December 2024. Sure, he offered up the expected “DEI Doctor” excuse in the immediate aftermath, but all has been quiet in the months since.

UFC analyst Paul Felder has one possible explanation: Covington is old and tired. Felder believes the overall act is fading, because it’s too hard to fake it for this long, especially as his career comes closer to its end.

“Recently there was also an encounter with Kamaru Usman when Kamaru walked by Colby, and he was just nothing but respectful,” Felder said on the “Believe You Me” podcast (via MMAJunkie). “I think that his persona is fading. Do you know what I mean? I think he’s struggling to keep up that MAGA, Mr. America bully from college persona these days. I think he’s even himself struggling to get through it because the real issue is – and Paddy’s right – he is quiet in person. The real situation is that he has nothing really against you, Paddy. He really doesn’t actually want to talk s—t to you.

“He doesn’t really want to talk s—t to most of these guys. He’s only doing it so that he can keep himself relevant. I think when he’s finally retired, he’ll be the first to admit to you that it was all complete bulls—t, 100 percent. I think now at late 30s, towards the end of his career, he’s struggling to keep the same face with that bulls—t, and that’s the problem with that type of personality when it’s not genuine – because it’s not with Colby, because I’ve hung out with that guy for an extended period of time, and he’s not like that.”

At age 37, it’s entirely possible Covington is ready to move on to a different stage in his career, whether that’s politics or a face turn. Another possible explanation behind the seeming lack of schtick is that it’s awkward for Covington to play the MAGA card while he’s losing fights and his buddy Donald Trump is winning elections.

Regardless, I would expect at least one more “Chaos” diatribe directed at somebody or something the next time he gets a fight booked. Still, the worst of the storm certainly seems to have passed.

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