Former interim UFC welterweight champion Colby Covington has finally been dropped from the UFC rankings for the first time since 2017.
Longtime MMA journalist John Morgan, who first reports changes to the UFC rankings, shared on social media early Tuesday morning that Covington has fallen out of the top-15 rankings. Fellow veteran Gilbert Burns has also fallen out of the top 15 after he retired following UFC Winnipeg, with Canadian Mike Malott and Ukrainian Yaroslav Amosov both entering the rankings for the first time in their UFC careers.
Colby Covington Was Ranked for Nearly a Decade
Covington first joined the UFC rankings in 2017 after he defeated Demian Maia. He then became a staple of the top-15 welterweight rankings for nearly a decade. In 2018, Covington reached the pinnacle of his MMA career when he won the UFC interim welterweight title against Rafael dos Anjos. However, he was later stripped of the belt due to inactivity.
In 2019, Covington beat Robbie Lawler to earn a shot at undisputed UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman. He put on a great fight against Usman, ultimately losing in the fifth round by TKO at UFC 245. After beating Tyron Woodley in his next fight, he earned a rematch with Usman, but he lost a unanimous decision this time at UFC 268. He then followed that up with a unanimous decision win over Jorge Masvidal at UFC 272, which earned him another title shot, this time against UFC welterweight champion Leon Edwards at UFC 296. Covington lost that fight, too, and then he lost again to Joaquin Buckley in his next fight, which took place in December 2024.
Covington has not fought since the loss to Buckley, meaning he has been out for 16 months. Typically, when a fighter sits out for that long a period with no upcoming fight booked, they are considered for removal from the UFC rankings. Covington’s inactivity, plus the fact that his last win came over four years ago, were both likely the main factors in his being removed from the UFC rankings.
What’s Next for Colby Covington?
Covington was widely expected to fight at the upcoming UFC White House event, also known as UFC Freedom 250, but he was surprisingly left off the card. Middleweight prospect Bo Nickal claimed that Covington was offered a fight against him but turned it down, something that Covington later denied. According to Covington, he was not offered a spot on the card, and instead, he claimed he was told by the UFC he would be fighting the winner of the Malott vs. Burns fight at UFC Winnipeg, a fight which Malott won via third-round TKO.
With Covington now dropped from the rankings, it doesn’t make a lot of sense for Malott to fight him anymore, as the Canadian is now ranked at No. 11 in the weight class. Instead, Malott will likely fight someone in the top 10 of the division. As for Covington, it is really difficult to say what the UFC will do with him next. He is still a big name in the sport, but he doesn’t fight very often, and he hasn’t had much success inside the cage in recent years. He may still be offered another fight, likely against someone who is unranked, but it also wouldn’t be a complete shocker if he came to a decision with the UFC for a mutual release, allowing him to pursue outside opportunities.
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