UFC welterweight contender Colby Covington was allegedly willing to take a pay cut and give up pay-per-view points to fight at UFC 272.
Covington will face former friend and American Top Team teammate Jorge Masvidal in the UFC 272 headliner. The bad blood between them has been boiling for a couple of years, and they’ll finally get the chance to get their hands on each other in the Octagon.
Love him or hate him, Covington has emerged as one of the top PPV stars in the UFC along with his rival Masvidal. The fight itself was expected to potentially garner earth-shattering numbers when it was first announced, but Covington has allegedly declined any extra pay raise.
During his UFC 272 pre-fight media day availability, Covington detailed how personal this fight is for him to the point that money is an afterthought.
“This is just a personal rivalry, this isn’t about the money,” Covington said. “I didn’t come here to fight for money. I took a pay cut, I didn’t care about the money for this fight. This is about settling a blood rivalry, this is a long time coming. This guy’s been holding it off as long as he could until he had no other opportunities. This is the biggest opportunity he can get to pay his alimony, to pay his child support. So of course he’s gotta come and get this losing paycheck.
When further pressed for clarification, Covington doubled down on his financial stance regarding his fight with Masvidal.
“Yeah, I foregoed the pay-per-view, I don’t care about the pay-per-view for this fight. I wanna come put on a show in the UFC and show that I’m deserving of being a lifetime UFC fighter.”
Covington and Masvidal are both looking to get a third fight with UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman after losses in 2021. Masvidal was also supposed to face Leon Edwards at UFC 269 before pulling out with an injury and setting up the fight with Covington.
UFC President Dana White hasn’t addressed Covington’s claims of a pay cut and forfeiting PPV points publically, but he may be questioned in the coming days.
What is your prediction for Colby Covington vs. Jorge Masvidal?
