Colby Covington endured a difficult time this past week with UFC 296. Coming into fight week, many fans and fighters backed him to give the champ a run for his money. However, the outcome was anything but a positive one for the challenger.
Ahead of the fight, fans online felt Covington could be the one to beat Leon Edwards and get the undisputed title. Even former rival Kamaru Usman touted Colby to potentially pull off an upset. Unfortunately, “Chaos” put in what was likely his worst performance, failing to win the title at the third time of asking.
Now, as it turns out, Covington did not receive any PPV points, not just for UFC 296, but for any of his headliners, ever. Following his UFC 276 fight against Jorge Mavidal, Colby told the media, “I told Hunter Campbell (that) this fight, I didn’t care about the money. I wanted to come out here and fight this guy, ‘cause he’s talked so reckless.” Further, Colby added, “I was willing to take a pay cut, I didn’t care. I would’ve fought this guy for free.”
Although Colby implied that he did not want the PPV points, there is another side to the story. Since it was a non-title PPV event, there was no champion who would be awarded the said PPV points. However, a special clause included in Jorge Masvidal’s contract allowed him the reap the benefits. Similarly, in other instances, the PPV points have gone to the champions, Kamaru Usman, and Leon Edwards.
Colby Covington caused a 25% increase in PPV buys for UFC 296
Although it may be a little difficult to digest, it certainly does make things make sense. Despite his antics this past week, there were still a few fans upset with the possibility of not reaping any rewards. As such, some fans wrote, “Poor Colby” and “Unfortunate.” With that said, most fans were rather happy that he did not receive any monetary benefits after his actions and terrible performance.
Thus, his statements and recent reports all indicate that Covington never received a share of the PPV buys. As such, his payout for UFC 296 was only his show money and his Promotional Guidelines Compliance of $32,000. With that said it must be noted that the American has always helped his opponents earn more money.
Speaking in the post-fight press conference, the UFC head honcho revealed that PPV buys went up 25% globally after Covington’s comments. Thus, for all the verbal abuse and harassment that Covington has caused, his opponents have benefited from it. Currently, he finds himself in a rough spot, 0-3 in title fights and a sharp decline in performances. As such, it will be interesting to see how things go for Covington from here.