Colby Covington claims UFC was going to release him before he cut ‘filthy animals’ promo in Brazil

UFC welterweight contender Colby Covington claims the UFC was planning on releasing him before he cut his famous ‘filthy animals’ promo in Brazil.

In October 2017, Covington fought Demian Maia in Sao Paulo, Brazil in what was the biggest fight of his career at the time. Covington defeated Maia via decision that night and then went on a verbal tirade during his post-fight interview, calling Brazilians “filthy animals” and saying the country was “a dump.”

Apparently that famous speech saved Covington’s job with the UFC. In a new interview with Candace Owens, Covington explained that the UFC was planning on releasing him from the promotion but the ‘filthy animals’ promo saved his job.

Check out what Covington said below.

The Colby Covington origin story #UFC245 pic.twitter.com/ej68Thyepm

— Borrachinha Depot (@FullContactMTWF) December 8, 2019

“I’ve never told this story before but three fights ago, before I fought the No. 2 guy in the world, this guy named Demian Maia in Brazil, they had told my manager Dan Lambert that they weren’t going to re-sign me. They didn’t like my style, they didn’t like that I wasn’t entertaining. This is before I really started to become an entertainer and really understand the entertainment aspect of the business. Before this fight, they told me no matter what happens, I was ranked No. 6 in the world, we’re not re-signing you, we don’t like your character, we don’t like your fighting style. And I’m getting paid $30,000 to go fight the No. 2 guy in the world. After you pay taxes and pay your coaches you’re really going to get $5000 or $10,000,” Covington said.

“So I go out there and I beat him up and leave him in a pool of blood in Sao Paulo, in his home city. I shoot this promo on the Brazilians and say, ‘You guys are all a bunch of filthy animals and Brazil you’re a dump.’ So I go and shoot this promo, and I wasn’t supposed to have my job, but that promo goes so viral on the internet, that the UFC’s like, we have to keep him, we have to re-sign him because that promo is so big. So that’s what saved my career and that was the turning point of my career. The rest has been history.”

Since beating Maia, Covington won the UFC interim welterweight title over Rafael dos Anjos and then beat Robbie Lawler to solidify his title shot against UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman at UFC 245. But without cutting that famous promo in Brazil, none of that would have ever happened.

Do you think Colby Covington is going to beat Kamaru Usman this weekend at UFC 245 to become the new UFC welterweight champion?