Colby Covington Believes He Was Going To Be Released By UFC

Colby Covington will finally get his chance to compete for the UFC welterweight title when he challenges Kamaru Usman this Saturday night in the main event of UFC 245. But according to Covington, he almost never made it to the card.

"Before I fought Demian Maia, (the UFC) had told my manager, Dan Lambert, they weren't going to re-sign me," Covington told Candace Owens. "They didn't like my style, they didn't like that I wasn't entertaining and this is before I really started to become an entertainer and really understand the entertainment aspect of this business."

Covington was ranked sixth in the division at the time and would go on to defeat Maia, a former title challenger. Afterwards, in Brazil, he cut a promo in which he referred to the country as "a bunch of filthy animals" and called it a "dump."

"That's what saved my career," he added. "That was the turning point of my career, and the rest has been history."

Covington would go on to claim the interim UFC welterweight title, but was later stripped of it due to injury. The bout Saturday will be one of three championship matches to take place from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.