UFC sponsors respond after Colby Covington calls BLM movement “a complete sham”

UFC welterweight contender Colby Covington made some very controversial comments about the Black Lives Matter movement after his latest Octagon triumph.

Covington defeated former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley, an African American and dedicated BLM supporter, in the main event of UFC Vegas 11 in Las Vegas. Post-fight, he called into question not only Woodley but the entire BLM movement.

“The Black Lives Matter is a complete sham,” Covington said post-fight. “It’s a joke. They’re taking these people that are complete terrorists. They’re taking these people that that are criminals. These aren’t people that are hardworking Americans, blue-collar Americans. These are bad people. They’re criminals.

“They shouldn’t be attacking police,” Covington added. “If you’re breaking the law and you’re threatening the cops with weapons, you deserve to get what you get. Law enforcement protects us all. If we don’t have law enforcement, it’d be the wild wild west.”

“[Woodley]’s a communist. He’s a Marxist. He stands for criminals. He hates America, and that’s why he got broke tonight.”

In the wake of this rant from Covington, Tim Bissell of Bloody Elbow reached out to every company that had its logo in the Octagon on the night of his win over Woodley: Reebok, Monster Energy, DoorDash, Modelo, Nemiroff Vodka, Howler Head, Manscaped, Jimmy John’s, Toyo Tires, and DraftKings. Unsurprisingly, not all of these corporations commented on Covington’s remarks, but here are the statements from those that did:

Reebok: 

“Reebok is the uniform provider for the UFC, however we do not sponsor Colby Covington. We do not agree with the sentiments he expressed, and stand firm in our belief that Black lives matter. We stand with athletes and communities who are fighting for change.”

Monster Energy:

“Monster Energy will not respond on the comments of a Non-Sponsored Athlete. We stand by the statements on our website regarding Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion.”

DoorDash:

“DoorDash stands with our employees and community members to fight injustice, inequality and discrimination, and we remain committed to using our voice and platform to empower local economies to support equality.”

While several UFC sponsors did not respond to requests for comment, Bloody Elbow notes that both Modelo and Manscaped have previously expressed support for the Black Lives matter movement.

What are your thoughts on the comments Colby Covington made after his win over Tyron Woodley?