Colby Covington is not buying into Justin Gaethje’s championship shine after UFC White House.
Gaethje scored a fourth-round TKO over Ilia Topuria by corner stoppage on the South Lawn in June, claiming an undisputed UFC title in a bout that was nearly halted by the doctor in Round 3. Topuria’s brother Alexandre ultimately stopped the fight in the corner after Round 4.
Covington dismissed the performance and Gaethje’s status as champion. “He still sucks, let’s be honest,” Covington said, later adding, “Little duck lip Gaethje, he’s still terrible. He’s not a good fighter. I mean, there’s a lot of controversies behind it. I saw that he had rocks in his gloves, there was something weird going on. I don’t know.”
“I’m not a conspiracy theorist, but I saw the pictures. I saw the pictures in his wraps, and his wraps look so much different than any wrap I’ve ever seen in UFC history. So I don’t know. I don’t think it’s that impressive,” Covington said, also arguing that “llia had him” before fading late.
Despite his criticism of Gaethje, Covington praised the historic card at the White House. “As a whole, it was cool. It was awesome,” he said. “So I thought it was awesome. The production was incredible, the whole setup was amazing on the South Lawn, and just a real spectacle at the world’s capital.”
Covington is set to headline RAF 11 against Arman Tsarukyan in an event that streams exclusively on FOX Nation. He is 3-0 in RAF, while Tsarukyan is 7-0 with wins in every RAF event of 2026 including RAF Georgia.
