Just minutes after he earned a fifth-round TKO in the main event, Covington was doing an interview on the UFC post-fight show when he was handed his phone with Trump on the other end of the line.
“You are a great fighter,” Trump said to Covington. “You make it look so easy. I don’t know how you do it. Congratulations, I wanted to watch that fight tonight. You were great.”
President Trump called @ColbyCovMMA during the #UFCVegas11 post show pic.twitter.com/FJsUMQV8Xk
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) September 20, 2020
Covington appeared at Trump’s rally this past weekend in Henderson, Nev. where the former interim champion joined UFC president Dana White alongside fellow fighters Henry Cejudo and Justin Gaethje as well as manager Ali Abdelaziz.— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) September 20, 2020
Following the rally, Covington posted a video with Trump touting his upcoming fight against Woodley at UFC Vegas 11.
According to Trump, he finished another rally on Saturday and then made it to a television in time to see Covington defeat Woodley from Las Vegas.
“That was easy work, relatively easy work. I’m proud of you,” Trump said. “I just made a big speech, I had 35,000 people, I said I want to get home now to watch Colby. That was fast work.
“I’m proud of you. I’m a big fan and I’m proud of you. You’re tough. You are something. I appreciated the shout out tonight, too. I’m your fan, you’re my fan. Two of a kind.”
Covington, who has become friends with the entire Trump family over the past couple of years, name dropped the president in his initial post fight comments when speaking to Jon Anik during the event.
He then paid homage to Trump again when speaking to him over the phone during the post-fight show.
“Thank you, Mr. President,” Covington said. “You gave me the dragon energy when you shook my hand on Sunday at your rally.”
Covington closed his conversation with Trump by promising to win the UFC welterweight title and then delivering it to him at the White House. Covington previously visited with Trump at the Oval Office following his interim title win in 2018.
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