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Colby Covington had a once-in-a-lifetime walkout planned for UFC 296.
“Chaos” gets his third crack at undisputed welterweight champion status this Saturday when he takes on the defending Leon Edwards at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Former President Donald Trump will be in attendance according to Covington, and he claims that the plan was initially to have Trump alongside him as he made his way to the octagon.
At UFC 296 media day, Covington explained why that won’t be happening.
“Yeah, there was a reason,” Covington said. “He called me about that. I asked Donald Trump if he could walk me out, I saw him at Mar-a-Lago before I left and I got this suit signed by him. He said he would walk me out. We called the UFC and Dana and he said, ‘Logistically, Colby, it would just be too tough. He has almost a hundred Secret Service that comes with him and it would be too much mayhem to get you to the cage and get him there at the same time.’
“So unfortunately Donald Trump won’t be able to walk out with me, but he’ll be cageside and I’ll give him a hug before I enter that octagon and I’ll see him cageside and he’ll be putting that belt around my waist Saturday night.”
Covington has twice challenged for welterweight gold and twice he pushed longtime rival Kamaru Usman to the limit. Their first encounter at UFC 245 was a back-and-forth encounter that ended with an Usman knockout victory after he broke Covington’s jaw late in the final round. Their rematch at UFC 268 was even more closely contested, but Usman emerged victorious once again, that time by decision.
With Trump watching nearby, Covington believes there is no chance he will lose and he looks forward to celebrating with the 45th president.
“There is truth to that,” Covington said. “Donald Trump will be in attendance Saturday night and he’s going to wrap that belt around me. I love Dana White, but I just asked Dana if he could let Donald put it around me, so it’s going to be a spectacle. It doesn’t matter who they put in there Saturday night.
“They can put The Hulk in there Saturday night. No one’s beating me in front of Donald Trump. We’re going to make America great again, we’re going to make the UFC welterweight division great again because Leon’s made an absolute joke of it.”
Covington arrived at media day on Wednesday wearing a custom jacket splashed with the red, white, and blue of the American flag, with a stylized image of Trump’s recent mugshot on the back of it.
He claims that Trump was thrilled by the unique homage.
“He loved it,” Covington said. “He was like, ‘Man, that’s creative. I love it. That’s amazing.’ Then he gave me some advice in the fight and then he just said, ‘Hey man, I’m going to be in the arena Saturday night. Don’t feel the pressure. You know when I come it creates a lot of pressure.’
“He’s the most famous person on planet Earth. There’s no one more famous than Donald Trump. He just said to relax, be calm, and do what I do best. Win championships, fight, and have fun. We’ll hang out and enjoy Mar-a-Lago afterwards.”
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