The Charlie Kirk Show - Inside the Mind of a Warrior with UFC Great Colby Covington
Aired: 2021-01-03
Duration: 32:37

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[00:00:37]  Buckle up.
[00:00:38]  Here we go.
[00:00:39]  Charlie, what you've done is incredible here.
[00:00:41]  Maybe Charlie Kirk is on the college campus.
[00:00:43]  I want you to know we are lucky to have Charlie Kirk.
[00:00:46]  Charlie Kirk's running the White House, folks.
[00:00:49]  I want to thank Charlie.
[00:00:50]  He's an incredible guy.
[00:00:52]  His spirit, his love of this country, he's done an amazing job building one of the most powerful youth organizations ever created.
[00:00:59]  Turning point USA.
[00:01:00]  We will not embrace the ideas that have destroyed countries, destroyed lives, and we are going to fight for freedom on campuses across the country.
[00:01:09]  That's why we are here.
[00:01:11]  Colby Covington, welcome to the Charlie Kirk Show.
[00:01:14]  It's an honor to be here.
[00:01:14]  Thanks for having me.
[00:01:15]  Champion.
[00:01:16]  I've been seeing you on TV.
[00:01:18]  My favorite clip of yours is when you're celebrating, you just get a call from the president.
[00:01:23]  You've been unafraid to wear the Make America Great Again hat, the Keep America Great hat.
[00:01:26]  I guess when you win, you could do whatever you want.
[00:01:28]  That's true.
[00:01:29]  And, you know, I don't have these owners or people telling me what I got to do or the woke mob, you know, trying to cancel me.
[00:01:35]  You know, we're independent contractors in the UFC.
[00:01:38]  So, you know, my beliefs, my freedoms don't stop there.
[00:01:41]  You know, I get to do whatever I want, say what I want, and I'm not going to be muzzled.
[00:01:44]  Yeah, what I love is seeing on ESPN, and they have to air your post-fight interview.
[00:01:50]  You're wearing that beautiful Keep America great hat.
[00:01:53]  It's terrific.
[00:01:54]  What's been the response from other fighters from that?
[00:01:55]  Do some not like it?
[00:01:56]  Some ask you to stop?
[00:01:58]  You know, some people, they get jealous.
[00:02:00]  You know, they want to follow that trend.
[00:02:02]  They see that, you know, the numbers that it's doing, you know, and that call with the president on fight night, I had 10 million viewers on the ESPN page, so they can't deny me.
[00:02:10]  I'm undeniable.
[00:02:11]  You know, that's the highest rated numbers the show's ever done with that call.
[00:02:15]  So, you know, I think a lot of people, they want to follow in those steps, but they also, they don't want to receive the backlash.
[00:02:20]  There's a lot of negative that comes with being a Trump supporter or a Republican, you know.
[00:02:25]  I just don't know.
[00:02:26]  I don't think Antifa is going to mess with you anytime soon, though.
[00:02:28]  I hope so, man.
[00:02:29]  I was telling president, send me out there, man.
[00:02:31]  Put me in the middle of the Antifa, man.
[00:02:32]  Let me go.
[00:02:34]  So you've been fighting for almost your whole life?
[00:02:37]  Yeah, since I was six years old, I got into wrestling and karate.
[00:02:40]  And, you know, it's just something I fell in love with at a young age.
[00:02:43]  And I just love combat sports.
[00:02:44]  So I just figured it's the best way to make a living and provide for my family is by going down the route as a professional fighter.
[00:02:51]  It's amazing.
[00:02:52]  And so how long do they give you a heads up before you?
[00:02:55]  So I know very little about fighting, to be honest, but I'm fascinated in high performers and how people dedicate themselves to excellence.
[00:03:03]  So I'm just super curious.
[00:03:04]  So how long do you have before someone, they tell you when your next fight is?
[00:03:08]  Yeah.
[00:03:08]  I mean, you're one of the biggest fighters in the world.
[00:03:10]  Let's get that shit right out the bat.
[00:03:12]  You're a freedom fighter, man.
[00:03:13]  You're the highest regarded fighter there is in the world.
[00:03:15]  I look at you as an all-star champion of the highest regard.
[00:03:19]  You're fighting for our freedoms.
[00:03:20]  You're fighting for conservatism.
[00:03:21]  So, you know, I have much respect and honor for you.
[00:03:24]  But as far as getting ready for fights, you know, it all depends.
[00:03:27]  Some fights I've had to get ready for in three weeks are like they give you a call.
[00:03:30]  Hey, you want to fight on short notice?
[00:03:31]  We need to fill this spot on ESPN main card.
[00:03:34]  And then I got to do it.
[00:03:35]  And so that's why it comes into play, your lifestyle 365 24-7 if you're staying in the gym.
[00:03:41]  But some fights, you know, the big fights, usually you get about eight to 12 weeks.
[00:03:45]  And so as soon as you get that call, eight weeks out, you just, the adrenaline starts, right?
[00:03:49]  You're like, I got to lock in now.
[00:03:50]  You start counting days.
[00:03:51]  Yep.
[00:03:52]  Right.
[00:03:52]  You try and make every day count.
[00:03:54]  And all of a sudden, do things just change from that moment?
[00:03:56]  You kind of cancel a little bit of travel and then you get into just a regimen.
[00:04:00]  Yeah, I cut off everything.
[00:04:02]  Like I go into hibernation like a bear.
[00:04:04]  It's just all I'm focused on is eating, sleeping, and training.
[00:04:07]  That's the only thing that matters to me is being the best I can be on that date.
[00:04:11]  So, you know, I put everything on hold, you know, girlfriends, you know, family.
[00:04:15]  It's just, it's all consumed on winning that fight because, you know, I want to, you know, we're sending a message to the people right now, you know, and I want to stand up for all the conservatives out there.
[00:04:26]  And I want to show these people that they don't have to be afraid to stand up for what they believe in.
[00:04:31]  So you look at yourself as also an ambassador, a fighter for the country in this ring.
[00:04:37]  Yeah.
[00:04:38]  Is that right?
[00:04:38]  Absolutely.
[00:04:39]  I take pride and joy in going into the octagon every time I step in there and having a ton of people behind me that support me, you know, the silent majority, 70 million plus.
[00:04:47]  So I put those people on my back and, you know, I go into that octagon and I think, hey, it's kill or be killed.
[00:04:53]  And I'm going to go out on my shield for these people because, you know, they don't have that platform, that opportunity to do what I do.
[00:04:59]  So you're about to probably enter into one of those eight to 12 week hibernations.
[00:05:03]  So what does a day look like when you're just you're grinding?
[00:05:07]  When I'm grinding, usually I'll wake up, have some breakfast, then I'll go to the gym.
[00:05:11]  What are you eating for breakfast?
[00:05:12]  Usually I'll have like some eggs, egg whites, you know, toast.
[00:05:16]  I stay away from fried.
[00:05:17]  I stay away from, you know, too much sodium because when you're cutting weight, you don't want to have too much sodium because it retains the water.
[00:05:23]  So you can't cut the weight and lose the weight easily.
[00:05:26]  So it's a low sodium, low carb, high protein diet.
[00:05:30]  So it's tough, you know, but you know, that's, that's what you can put in your body like a high octane motor and you can get a lot out like a high octane motor.
[00:05:38]  So so you you do your breakfast, you go to training in the morning.
[00:05:42]  What does that look like?
[00:05:43]  That looks like the first training in the morning is usually about two hours.
[00:05:45]  I'll do one hour kickboxing, one hour jiu-jitsu, and then I'll take a little break, go get lunch, take a nap, and then I'll come back and I'll do about two hours of strength and conditioning.
[00:05:55]  And that's when you really get beat up.
[00:05:57]  Yeah, and that's when really the wear and tear starts to set in.
[00:06:01]  The mind starts to doubt yourself a little bit.
[00:06:03]  Like, oh, your body, you know, it's a little tired.
[00:06:05]  Maybe you shouldn't do this.
[00:06:06]  Maybe you should take a day off.
[00:06:08]  And that's when you got to really start telling yourself, you know, you got to dig deep and you got to say, hey, man, this is mental.
[00:06:12]  And who cares what your body says?
[00:06:14]  You know, your mind says you can do this.
[00:06:16]  So let's go push and let's go get the most out of yourself.
[00:06:18]  So when you're doing that hibernation, you're going all seven days?
[00:06:21]  Six days.
[00:06:22]  I take Sundays off.
[00:06:23]  I think that's a day for God.
[00:06:25]  And, you know, I'm very blessed to be here.
[00:06:27]  So, you know, I give that day to him.
[00:06:28]  And it gives me a chance to kind of recharge my mind, recharge my body, and then get ready for Monday to put a hard six days in.
[00:06:35]  How big is your team that's doing this?
[00:06:38]  So before I used to have a huge team, but now since I went Republican and started supporting Trump, you're saving money on your team, I guess, right?
[00:06:46]  Yeah, I'm saving a lot more money now, but it's also a lot more expensive going out because I got to fly coaches and got to fly trainers in.
[00:06:52]  But it's more about me.
[00:06:53]  It's individualized.
[00:06:54]  So I'm getting a lot more out of myself.
[00:06:56]  It's not about a team and trying to get the most out of a team.
[00:06:58]  It's about getting the most out of me and how can we be the best we can be at Colby Covington Incorporated.
[00:07:03]  So, you know, it's been amazing to have my own team and not have to worry about anybody else telling me what I can say, what I can do, and who I can be.
[00:07:12]  So you go through the hibernation, and the next thing you know, you're 10 days out from a fight.
[00:07:16]  You're a week out from the fight.
[00:07:18]  Do you all of a sudden start to kind of visualize your opponent?
[00:07:21]  You know, you start to think about him, obsess about him.
[00:07:24]  What's the mental preparation for something like that?
[00:07:27]  Yeah.
[00:07:27]  So the mental preparation, Charlie, I start to really start to visualize every little step, like the day I arrive at fight week, the day I step on the scale, the day I'm getting off the charter bus to walk into the arena.
[00:07:41]  The feels, the adrenaline, the emotions that it is when you walk into an arena and you hear all these screaming fans and you see all the cameras that are in your face and you're getting ready to go to battle, you know?
[00:07:52]  So that's when I really start thinking about every step, like up until literally I walk into the octagon and I'm shaking the guy's hand, which I don't shake the guy's hand because we're there to fight, you know?
[00:08:01]  Business is business.
[00:08:02]  But up until that second, until we fight, you know, it's, I'm visualizing every second, you know, what, what, what, what, how I'm feeling when I walk in, what I'm eating, like, what am I thinking?
[00:08:12]  And just all the little steps until you go to war.
[00:08:15]  So you get there for a whole week ahead of time and it builds up.
[00:08:17]  You start to drive through town and you see big posters with your face on it.
[00:08:22]  How do you, how do you stay focused on the fight?
[00:08:24]  They say the greatest fighters are the ones that are able to just kind of tune out all the pizzazz, right?
[00:08:29]  And just stay focused on that moment.
[00:08:31]  How do you do that?
[00:08:32]  Because you keep on getting more.
[00:08:33]  I mean, you might be, I could say in 2020, you've gotten more headlines than any other fighter, I think.
[00:08:39]  It's election year.
[00:08:41]  How have you been able to stay focused despite all of that?
[00:08:44]  Yeah, I think, you know, I just, like you said, you know, I try not to think about it too much.
[00:08:49]  I try and take a step back and think about the kid that was five years old that had these dreams to be the best in the world and to do great things and be one of the greats, you know, in sports history.
[00:09:00]  So I think about that little kid that was inspired and motivated and wanted to accomplish all these things.
[00:09:06]  And then I feel like I'm here and I'm in that zone that time now.
[00:09:12]  But, you know, I got to go get the most out of myself.
[00:09:15]  And I don't want to worry about all the extracurricular stuff on the side.
[00:09:19]  I just want to worry about taking care of business.
[00:09:21]  So the thing I'm super curious about, fight day, what does your day look like?
[00:09:26]  That day must be the longest day of the year.
[00:09:28]  It feels like, honestly, like a minute is like two.
[00:09:32]  Forever.
[00:09:32]  You're like, come on, let's get this over with, right?
[00:09:34]  Literally.
[00:09:35]  Do you sleep well the night before?
[00:09:36]  Nah.
[00:09:37]  Yeah.
[00:09:37]  Usually I'm not sleeping.
[00:09:38]  You're in your hotel room going through.
[00:09:40]  Yeah.
[00:09:40]  And you just got done doing like the weight cut.
[00:09:42]  So, you know, you just lost 20 pounds and you're completely depleted.
[00:09:46]  You took all the salts out of your body.
[00:09:48]  You're dehydrated because you're pretty much water loading.
[00:09:51]  And then you take all the water and the weight off you and you just completely dehydrate.
[00:09:55]  And you weigh in the day before the fight.
[00:09:56]  You do weigh in the day before the fight.
[00:09:58]  So you got 24 hours to rehydrate and then you fight.
[00:10:01]  So like that whole process is like you're rehydrating, you're trying to put the right nutrients in, but you can't put them in too quick because if you put them in too quick, your stomach and your system's not going to take it and you're going to throw up.
[00:10:11]  So do you have a nutritionist that comes with you that helps monitor all that?
[00:10:14]  Yeah, I have a nutritionist.
[00:10:17]  It's fascinating.
[00:10:17]  So it's not just being able to psychologically prepare.
[00:10:22]  You have to, because you're just cutting, you're cutting your cutting.
[00:10:24]  You got to make the weight.
[00:10:25]  Yeah.
[00:10:25]  And if you don't, that's just, you know, you're done.
[00:10:28]  There's no fight, right?
[00:10:29]  There's a fight, but then you have to give up 30% of your purse.
[00:10:32]  So if you're fighting for a million dollars, you got to give up $300,000.
[00:10:35]  Have you ever not made the weight?
[00:10:37]  Never.
[00:10:37]  I'm a true professional.
[00:10:38]  I'm a businessman.
[00:10:40]  When I sign a contract, I'm a man of my word.
[00:10:42]  I'm going to show up and I'm going to make weight and I'm going to handle my business like a businessman.
[00:10:46]  Wow.
[00:10:46]  And so then the day of the fight, what time do you wake up?
[00:10:49]  What does that look like?
[00:10:50]  What do you do?
[00:10:50]  Do you watch TV?
[00:10:51]  Do you just say, like, let's get this day over with as quickly as possible?
[00:10:55]  Usually when I wake up, I'll have like a bunch of carbs, like some pancakes, because I've been depleting myself low carbs for a couple of weeks.
[00:11:01]  So I'll have some pancakes, you know, have some eggs, some turkey sausage, some healthy stuff.
[00:11:06]  And then it's just, it's just visualizing, watching a little bit of tapes to see, you know, what areas a guy's good in and to see what his strengths are and to see what his weaknesses is.
[00:11:14]  And then it's just really just, you know, just being by myself, just making sure it's just my thoughts and my feelings and my emotions.
[00:11:21]  I don't want anybody else.
[00:11:22]  I don't want to hear what anybody else has to say.
[00:11:24]  I just, I want to be selfish in that moment.
[00:11:26]  And that's probably a mean thing to say because I like to be selfless most of the time.
[00:11:31]  But when it comes down to a fight and you're going to step into the octagon and all the repercussions that can happen and they got stretchers waiting for the guys that's going to lose because he's probably going to go to the hospital, that makes me be a little bit more selfish and self-centered in that moment of the day of the fight and just being relaxed and calm and not really thinking about anything.
[00:11:50]  So you start to see the clock, it's noon, it's one o'clock, it's two o'clock, it's three o'clock, all of a sudden knock on your hotel door, Colby, 45 minutes till we roll.
[00:11:59]  What's going through your mind?
[00:12:00]  Usually just a ton of adrenaline.
[00:12:02]  Right?
[00:12:03]  You're starting to feel the weight of the world a little bit, right?
[00:12:05]  You start to feel the weight of the world.
[00:12:06]  You start to feel the pressure.
[00:12:08]  You start to feel like an extra weight on your shoulder, like it's weighing you down.
[00:12:13]  Do you have your phone or no?
[00:12:14]  The only reason I have my phone is in case the POTUS calls.
[00:12:17]  Okay.
[00:12:17]  Because he always calls before the body.
[00:12:18]  But it can be a distraction, right?
[00:12:19]  It can be a distraction.
[00:12:20]  So no social media flipping, none of that.
[00:12:22]  I turn off my phone the week of the fight.
[00:12:24]  Really?
[00:12:24]  Before the fight's done.
[00:12:26]  It's in airplane mode.
[00:12:27]  I'm not listening because I'm getting hundreds of texts.
[00:12:29]  Everybody loves to come out when you have big events or big things that come up.
[00:12:32]  You hear my language.
[00:12:33]  Yeah, you probably understand it more than anybody.
[00:12:35]  During this turning point USA event, I'm sure a lot of people have hit your phone up.
[00:12:39]  So asking for favors, asking for this.
[00:12:41]  You need to be in the right headspace.
[00:12:43]  You have to have the right mental fortitude to know what you're going to, what direction you're going to go with your narratives all weekend.
[00:12:49]  So that's why it's important to shut out all the outside distractions and just focus on what you have ahead of you.
[00:12:54]  So you roll on the bus.
[00:12:56]  Roll on the bus.
[00:12:56]  And then, you know, that's when I'm listening to some music, trying to get in my zone.
[00:13:01]  I like to listen to classic rock, like some, some ACDC.
[00:13:04]  Yeah.
[00:13:04]  You know, get pumped up.
[00:13:06]  And then, yeah, it's just.
[00:13:08]  You get to the stadium of the arena.
[00:13:10]  And then that must be an eternity from there, right?
[00:13:13]  Yeah.
[00:13:13]  That's like, it feels out of body.
[00:13:15]  That's the best way to experience it.
[00:13:17]  Every time I walk into the arena on fight night, it doesn't feel like real.
[00:13:22]  It feels like out-of-body experience.
[00:13:23]  Like you don't feel like you're there.
[00:13:24]  You feel like you're like outside your body and you're like, whoa, like, man, wake up, man.
[00:13:29]  Like, you got to slap yourself a little bit.
[00:13:31]  Like, man, you're about to fight, man.
[00:13:33]  You're about to get into some serious business.
[00:13:34]  So wake up.
[00:13:35]  Let's be there in the moment.
[00:13:37]  So it's hard to really channel that, you know, that moment of being there and getting ready to go.
[00:13:43]  So you have your hold room and then they say, Colby, two minutes to TV, one minute.
[00:13:48]  You walk into kind of the, you know, the entrance area and you get out.
[00:13:52]  Everyone's screaming.
[00:13:53]  How do you not all of a sudden, and fighting is different than any other sport?
[00:13:58]  You know, basketball, when you're playing basketball, you can have all the jitters and everything, but after a couple plays and this timeout, you kind of get your breath.
[00:14:05]  Fighting, you got a short window, right?
[00:14:07]  If you have, if all of a sudden, if you do one position wrong, you're done, especially in the very brutal type of fighting that you do.
[00:14:16]  How all of a sudden do you not allow yourself to get too excited?
[00:14:18]  Because that's something that could happen, right?
[00:14:20]  Yeah, it's true.
[00:14:21]  A lot of these guys, they have adrenaline dumps.
[00:14:23]  They get so excited for the fight that they get in the fight and then they have no energy because they wasted all their energy and they were so excited and they had an adrenaline dump.
[00:14:32]  They wasted all those motions before the fight and they get in the fight.
[00:14:35]  They have no energy to throw any punches because they're just, they're so drained from it all.
[00:14:39]  So, you know, what I've learned to see is that, you know, you can play, you can play basketball, you can play football, you can play baseball.
[00:14:46]  You don't play fighting.
[00:14:47]  Fighting is real as it comes.
[00:14:49]  So, you know, you have to take it very serious.
[00:14:51]  And on fight day, I really take a step back and just make sure I guard my energy because I'm a big, you know, I'm a big believer in energy and having positive and good energy around you is what uplifts you and makes you do great things.
[00:15:06]  So, you know, I protect my energy on fight day.
[00:15:08]  So the fight starts.
[00:15:10]  Just everyone's screaming, cameras, you know, millions of people are watching.
[00:15:14]  Talk about some of your recent fights.
[00:15:16]  What's the moment where you know you got them?
[00:15:19]  Like what all of a sudden does that become an out-of-body experience into just success?
[00:15:23]  You know what I'm talking about, right?
[00:15:24]  Where all of a sudden you're like, all right, I got him.
[00:15:27]  Talk about when all of a sudden you see your opponent or the guy you're fighting, the weakness all of a sudden expose itself.
[00:15:32]  What does that look like?
[00:15:33]  Yeah.
[00:15:34]  I mean, you could just, it looks like the soul leaving the body.
[00:15:37]  You can literally see it.
[00:15:39]  Like the second round of my last fight, I was fighting the former champion, one of the greatest fighters in the history of the UFC, a guy named Tyrone Woodley.
[00:15:45]  And at the end of the second round, the first round, I put a high pace on him, a lot of volume of my punches, a lot of kicks to the body, just wearing him down methodically, strategically.
[00:15:55]  Second round, took him down, really just beating on him, just cutting him open.
[00:15:59]  And then at the end of the second round, when it goes ding, ding, and the buzzer went off to go back to our corners, I looked at him and I saw the way he got up.
[00:16:07]  And you know, when someone's confident and like they're walking around, they're feeling good.
[00:16:10]  And you know, when someone's just like defeated and they're just done.
[00:16:13]  And that's when I really noticed it.
[00:16:15]  The way he went back to the stool and he sat on the stool and he put his head down.
[00:16:18]  He was just like this.
[00:16:19]  I was like, okay, he's done.
[00:16:20]  I'm going to finish him in these next two rounds.
[00:16:22]  Did you knock him out?
[00:16:23]  I ended up knocking him out in the fifth round or he quit.
[00:16:25]  He was knocked out.
[00:16:26]  Like I cut him open and hurt him real bad and then he quit.
[00:16:29]  He was just like, he faked the rib injury.
[00:16:30]  He was like, oh, my rib.
[00:16:32]  Just so they'd stop the fight because they knew I was just going to unload on his face.
[00:16:35]  And he'd already had like three giant cuts on his eyes and on his face.
[00:16:39]  So he was like, no more, just let me out, man.
[00:16:42]  So you get crowned the winner.
[00:16:44]  Is that even an experience that you can put into words?
[00:16:47]  12 weeks of hell, hibernation, one day off a week.
[00:16:51]  You're eating nothing.
[00:16:52]  You're seeing nobody.
[00:16:53]  Everyone's got a million opinions, right?
[00:16:55]  What does that feel?
[00:16:56]  What is that feeling like all of a sudden with 30 million people watching?
[00:16:59]  Yeah, I don't think you could put into words the feeling that it is because it doesn't feel real.
[00:17:05]  Every time it happens, I'm like, this isn't real, man.
[00:17:07]  I'm dreaming right now.
[00:17:08]  There's no way that, you know, I just, you know, made a buttload of money and did something that I loved and was able to stand up for the people in the back that don't have a voice or a platform right now.
[00:17:19]  So it's hard to describe.
[00:17:22]  I wish I could give you the right words to say.
[00:17:24]  No, there's no words that describe it.
[00:17:26]  Do you like to win more or do you hate to lose more?
[00:17:29]  I hate to lose more.
[00:17:31]  Yeah, it's there's something about losing.
[00:17:33]  Like I've learned a lot in my life from when I was younger, when I lost, and that's been very valuable in my success today was, you know, taking a lot of knowledge from my losses.
[00:17:45]  But it always hurts a lot more to lose than it feels good to win.
[00:17:49]  Talk about one loss that really motivated you.
[00:17:53]  Yeah, one last that really motivated me was, you know, my last fight or two fights ago when I fought for the world title.
[00:18:01]  You know, I just think that the stack, the deck was stacked against me, you know, being who I am and who I support and which side I stand on.
[00:18:10]  You know, they definitely stacked against the deck against me.
[00:18:14]  And, you know, it was definitely a rigged fight, just like our election.
[00:18:17]  So it hurts, you know, it hurts to lose to someone you know you're better than, you know, and, you know, I didn't get the most out of myself that night.
[00:18:25]  There was a lot of problems that went into the fight, you know, before the fight, diet-wise, putting my trust into people, outsiders that I don't even know who they are to do my diet.
[00:18:34]  You know, you don't know who's handling your food and what they're doing to your food.
[00:18:37]  And then, and then in the fight, you know, the ref calling multiple fake fouls that aren't even there.
[00:18:43]  You know, I kicked the guy in the liver and he was about to quit.
[00:18:45]  He put it, he put his stomach down like he was going to quit.
[00:18:48]  And the ref stops it, oh, nutshot.
[00:18:50]  They show it on the replay.
[00:18:52]  Clearly, it hit him right in the liver.
[00:18:53]  It wasn't even close to the fire.
[00:18:54]  I remember Rogan talking about that.
[00:18:55]  Yeah.
[00:18:56]  Yeah.
[00:18:56]  And then, and then I come to find out the guy's, you know, anti-Brexit.
[00:18:59]  He's from the UK.
[00:19:00]  He hates Trump.
[00:19:01]  He hates anybody who stands for Trump and he hates Republicans.
[00:19:04]  So of course he's going to stack the dense deck against me and not put an even playing field out there for me.
[00:19:09]  So he doesn't want me to win.
[00:19:10]  He doesn't want me to have that spotlight.
[00:19:12]  So, but, you know, I'm happy it happened that way because it just sets up the future that I'm just going to, I want it that much more now.
[00:19:20]  And I'm not going to accept anything less than being the best.
[00:19:24]  And that, so you win, when you win, all of a sudden, a couple days, that feeling, you want to get another one, right?
[00:19:31]  For sure.
[00:19:32]  You become addicted to like that high, that high of winning, that high of the roller coaster of emotions that go into fight week and fighting in the octagon.
[00:19:40]  So, you know, I was done with my last fight and I was ready to go the next week.
[00:19:43]  And I've been begging to fight.
[00:19:44]  You know, I'm calling Dana White every week.
[00:19:46]  Dana, come on, man.
[00:19:47]  Let's get this fight going.
[00:19:48]  He's like, all right, I'm working on it, man.
[00:19:50]  He's just, you got to understand you're the best fighter in the world.
[00:19:52]  No one wants to fight you right now.
[00:19:54]  Yeah.
[00:19:55]  Dana's awesome, by the way.
[00:19:57]  He's done an unbelievable thing with UFC.
[00:19:59]  He has.
[00:20:00]  And I've got a chance to know the Fertita family as well.
[00:20:02]  They're really special people.
[00:20:03]  Yeah.
[00:20:03]  Dude, these are good people, man.
[00:20:05]  And so what's amazing about your sport is it really, there's no pretending.
[00:20:12]  I mean, there is, you know, refs that can interfere and all that, but the moving average of a career, you really find out who's willing to put in the work.
[00:20:21]  So let me ask you, it gets described as a physical sport.
[00:20:25]  How much of it is mental?
[00:20:26]  When you're in that third round, that fourth round, how much of it is digging deep into a belief to win?
[00:20:33]  I would say 80% mental and 20% physical.
[00:20:36]  Really?
[00:20:37]  Yeah.
[00:20:37]  There's been fights where my body had nothing left.
[00:20:41]  It felt like there was bricks in my shoes.
[00:20:44]  It felt like I couldn't throw a punch because my shoulders were so tired because I threw 500 punches in the fight.
[00:20:50]  But, you know, I told my mind, hey, man, it's first round.
[00:20:52]  And, hey, man, you know, your grandfather, he served in the Korean and Vietnam War.
[00:20:56]  He put his life on the line for this country and these freedoms, man.
[00:20:59]  You're just fighting.
[00:21:00]  You're doing, you know, you're doing something you love, something that's enjoyable.
[00:21:03]  So, you know, I go back to those, I reminisce of those memories and all these different things in my life.
[00:21:09]  And it makes me realize that it's not as hard as I think it is.
[00:21:12]  And if I change my mindset and just be a little positive, that it's going to be a lot easier.
[00:21:16]  And then I can dig deep and get more out of myself that way.
[00:21:20]  And so there's been many times, I'm sure, when you dig deep, as you just mentioned, you ever can you talk about a fight where you really had to fight hurt?
[00:21:28]  Like a rib broke, or you know, because what's unbelievable about what you, what I mean, you have sometimes, I mean, there's real, I mean, not even injuries.
[00:21:37]  There's just like life-altering, you know, that's true.
[00:21:41]  Casualties.
[00:21:42]  Yeah.
[00:21:44]  So before I was going to fight Robbie Lawler, ruthless Robbie Lawler.
[00:21:47]  He's one of the, he's literally the boogeyman of the UFC.
[00:21:50]  You know, when they, why is that?
[00:21:52]  Just because he knocks everybody out.
[00:21:54]  He's literally taking people's lives.
[00:21:55]  So he was in your weight class?
[00:21:57]  Yeah, he was in my weight class.
[00:21:58]  He was a long champion of the UFC, I think four or five-time champion, put on some of the most exciting fights in the history of the UFC sport.
[00:22:05]  And, you know, I get to get matched up against him.
[00:22:07]  We were the top two guys at the time.
[00:22:08]  I got to fight him and defend my title.
[00:22:11]  And two weeks before the fight, I get a nasty cut.
[00:22:14]  Guy headbutts me in training.
[00:22:15]  I mean, I'm telling you, I had a cut that was probably from this side of the eyebrow down here.
[00:22:20]  Like it was like 20 stitches.
[00:22:22]  I was so upset because I was like, oh, I'm going to have to pull out of the fight.
[00:22:25]  And this is a huge fight.
[00:22:26]  Like UFC called me on short notice.
[00:22:28]  They said, hey, you want to fight Robbie Lawler in the main event on ESPN?
[00:22:31]  We need you to save the card because the main event fell off.
[00:22:34]  So can you do that?
[00:22:35]  So I'm thinking I have to pull out of the fight because it's nasty cut.
[00:22:38]  There's no way the commission is going to prove me.
[00:22:40]  And somehow, you know, I didn't train the rest of the two weeks before the fight.
[00:22:44]  Really?
[00:22:44]  Yeah, I didn't train.
[00:22:45]  So that puts you at a disadvantage.
[00:22:46]  Big disadvantage.
[00:22:48]  Weight-wise for cutting weight and just the final preps, you know, feeling sharp, you know, with your strategy and your punches and the way you're going to go into the fight.
[00:22:56]  And this is where talking about going into the mental and how physical versus mental fighting is.
[00:23:02]  This was all mental because, you know, all I could do is run every day and just visualize in the fight and not even know if I'm going to get to the fight because when you get to the fight and you go to Wayne's, you have to pass a commission test.
[00:23:13]  The boxing commission.
[00:23:14]  This is just a full body exam, right?
[00:23:16]  Full body.
[00:23:17]  They want to see if you have any viruses, any diseases, any skin conditions, any cuts.
[00:23:21]  Because if you have a cut, basically like a physical almost.
[00:23:24]  Yeah, it's exactly the same exact thing.
[00:23:26]  And I'm putting makeup all over this thing.
[00:23:28]  I got the UFC putting makeup.
[00:23:30]  Hey, we got to cover this thing for the commission.
[00:23:31]  We can't let them see.
[00:23:32]  We have to fight this fight.
[00:23:34]  We cannot pull out of this fight.
[00:23:35]  So we're putting makeup on this thing.
[00:23:37]  We didn't get to train the last two weeks.
[00:23:39]  And then I go out there and fight Robbie Lawler, the scariest guy in the division.
[00:23:42]  And, you know, usually you want a full training camp.
[00:23:44]  You want to feel great.
[00:23:45]  And I go out there and set the record for most strikes ever thrown in a UFC fight and landed on a fighter.
[00:23:51]  And this is against one of the best fighters to ever do it in the sport.
[00:23:54]  So that shows these guys that it's not physical.
[00:23:57]  It's all mental because I just believed that I was going to go out there and get my hand raised.
[00:24:00]  And I wasn't going to accept anything less than getting my hand raised that night.
[00:24:04]  And I was willing to die for it.
[00:24:06]  How do you deal with the doubters and the haters?
[00:24:08]  Something that a lot of people wonder that watch our program.
[00:24:11]  How do I deal with the people that want to wish me harm?
[00:24:13]  You have a lot of those people, I'm sure.
[00:24:15]  I mean, you are in one of the most competitive industries.
[00:24:18]  Now, it's a multi-billion dollar a year sport, right?
[00:24:22]  There's a lot of people in fighting.
[00:24:24]  There's commercial advertisers.
[00:24:25]  There's sponsors.
[00:24:27]  There's, you know, you could get injuries.
[00:24:29]  You could get displaced.
[00:24:30]  Not to mention all the psychological warfare launched against you.
[00:24:34]  How do you rise above all that?
[00:24:36]  You know, I just try not to focus on those things.
[00:24:39]  I just try and focus on what I have control of.
[00:24:41]  I don't have control of other people's feelings and their opinions.
[00:24:45]  And we know in America, everybody has a different opinion.
[00:24:48]  And, you know, we know that the right side, you know, yeah, we're not going to hate you for having a different opinion than us.
[00:24:53]  We're going to respect your opinion, but it's different from the left because the left just thinks if you have a different opinion, you're the worst person in the world and you're just an evil person.
[00:25:01]  But it's not really like that.
[00:25:02]  So I just try not to focus on any of their opinions.
[00:25:05]  I think that's funny you actually say that about the sponsors and caring about their opinions.
[00:25:09]  After my last fight, you know, my fight, I had the call with the president on the phone.
[00:25:14]  Reebok is a sponsor of the UFC.
[00:25:16]  They don't sponsor me individually.
[00:25:18]  I have my individual sponsors.
[00:25:19]  Reebok sponsors, the UFC.
[00:25:21]  They called the UFC and Dana White and were trying to get me canceled.
[00:25:24]  The cancel culture was coming after me.
[00:25:26]  And this is a sponsor that I'm not even sponsored by.
[00:25:28]  And they're sponsoring the company and the advertisement in the cage, but you don't sponsor me individually.
[00:25:34]  They're trying to get me canceled and cut for the UFC just for going on camera and speaking with the president and wearing a Keep America Great hat.
[00:25:41]  I think they were unsuccessful.
[00:25:43]  They were unsuccessful.
[00:25:44]  The cancel culture, I'm a prime target for them, but you can't cancel Colby Covington Incorporated.
[00:25:48]  You know, this is a free country and in the UFC, Dana White allows free speech and he's not going to muzzle anybody in the UFC.
[00:25:56]  We're allowed to say and think as we want.
[00:25:59]  And, you know, they're not going to, you know, they're not going to tell us to be quiet about it.
[00:26:04]  And so you love fighting.
[00:26:05]  Dude, I love fighting more than I love living.
[00:26:08]  I asked for a reason, though, because some people on the left and the political correct, they're trying to cancel the whole idea of fighting.
[00:26:14]  It's too violent.
[00:26:15]  People shouldn't be watching it.
[00:26:16]  What do you have to say to those people?
[00:26:18]  I just have to say you're soft.
[00:26:21]  This isn't the participation trophy society anymore.
[00:26:25]  There's no safe spaces here.
[00:26:28]  These are all alphas and people who believe in real American morals and values.
[00:26:34]  So I want to close on the politics stuff.
[00:26:38]  This election was stolen, as you mentioned.
[00:26:40]  What's your message to Trump supporters out there?
[00:26:42]  A lot of them look up to you.
[00:26:44]  My message is don't give up.
[00:26:46]  Hold the line.
[00:26:47]  We can't give these guys an itch.
[00:26:49]  They're trying to take away our freedoms, trying to take away our rights.
[00:26:53]  There's a constitution for a reason, and we have constitutional rights, and we need to stand by them and not bow down to anybody.
[00:26:59]  The woke mob's not going to scare me, and they shouldn't scare you.
[00:27:03]  And you're going to keep fighting for conservative bullies.
[00:27:06]  That's right.
[00:27:07]  I'm going to keep fighting for consideration.
[00:27:08]  And if anyone has a problem with it, they can join you in the octagon, right?
[00:27:10]  That's true.
[00:27:11]  Just like when I call out LeBron James for being a hypocrite and having a double standard, I tell them, hey, man, if you really think what you think, and you want to put targets on police officers' backs, the same police officers that are giving you and your family private security every day, you want to put these targets on their backs, then, you know, we can do something about it.
[00:27:32]  We can fight.
[00:27:33]  If you think you're so tough, man, we can get in the ring.
[00:27:35]  No weight, no size.
[00:27:36]  It doesn't matter.
[00:27:37]  Let's just get in the ring and we'll settle our differences.
[00:27:40]  China, LeBron.
[00:27:43]  And stunningly, he didn't take you up on the offer.
[00:27:46]  He did it.
[00:27:47]  He said in an interview, he was like, oh, he wouldn't know what to do if he was in the arena, the bright lights.
[00:27:52]  He'd be scared, but he doesn't know what he's talking about.
[00:27:55]  He's just a sellout for Beijing.
[00:27:58]  That's exactly right.
[00:27:59]  We all know Hong Kong needs to be freed.
[00:28:01]  I have this very belief, and Dana White deserves a lot of credit that UFC is like one of the last American sports.
[00:28:08]  It really is.
[00:28:09]  And it's awesome in a variety of different ways, from the sponsorships to the focus, but also it's just kind of unapologetic commitment to masculinity.
[00:28:19]  Yeah.
[00:28:20]  Especially in a time where they don't want masculinity.
[00:28:24]  I'm the definition of toxic masculinity.
[00:28:27]  Oh, yeah.
[00:28:28]  So, you know, they're trying to take away all these labels, you know, masculinity, gender.
[00:28:34]  You know, what is that going to do?
[00:28:36]  It's not making America better.
[00:28:38]  It's just, you know, dividing us even more.
[00:28:40]  Absolutely.
[00:28:41]  And as we just went through, I mean, the amount of mental discipline you have to go through is extraordinary.
[00:28:48]  And you know, your competitors are going through that too, right?
[00:28:52]  And you know, and this is really important for people to hear, that every day, if someone's training right now, being like, I'm going to beat Kobe Covington.
[00:28:58]  Because soon as you start to win, right?
[00:29:00]  And you get to be the best in the world, you create an obsessive class where all of a sudden other people want to come after you and other people want to do that.
[00:29:08]  And staying focused and staying determined is just exactly how you're going to stay on top.
[00:29:13]  That's true.
[00:29:13]  What's it like for you?
[00:29:14]  Because I know a lot of people want your spot.
[00:29:17]  Oh, yeah.
[00:29:17]  Well, I mean, look, I love talking to other high performers because there's so much similarity.
[00:29:22]  There's so much overlap because the same, to a lesser extent, you know, what we do on these campuses, you know, when we do these really big events or when I do a really big debate, it's not dissimilar to you on a big fight.
[00:29:36]  Again, it's not in front of 30 million people, but it could be.
[00:29:39]  And, you know, when we host the president of the United States, I got to get everything right.
[00:29:43]  And I got to visualize the logistics, the intro.
[00:29:45]  I got to get up on stage.
[00:29:46]  I say one word wrong and have the media come after me.
[00:29:49]  Right.
[00:29:49]  And I won't, you know, I won't get a black guy and end up in the hospital.
[00:29:52]  I'll just get a public relations black guy and get humiliated in a different way, right?
[00:29:58]  And when we host a successful event or when I win a debate, when I do that, it's that same sort of feeling.
[00:30:03]  And winning's good, but I hate losing.
[00:30:06]  I can't stand it.
[00:30:07]  We agree on that.
[00:30:09]  And so there's so much overlap there.
[00:30:11]  And when other people are obsessed about taking you down, you know you're in the right place, but then you just have to commit yourself to working harder than them.
[00:30:17]  Because you know, there's very few people that actually truly have the work ethic.
[00:30:23]  They say they do, but then you're actually able to see when it all kind of comes to fruition.
[00:30:28]  That's true.
[00:30:29]  You know, that's that's why, you know, some people they're addicted to cheating on their taxes.
[00:30:33]  They're addicted to cheating on your wife's.
[00:30:35]  You know, you're addicted to winning.
[00:30:37]  That's your drug of choice.
[00:30:38]  And it's inspiring to get to talk to you and see your message that you're providing for the next generation of Republicans and conservatives because you're changing the values and morals of every American.
[00:30:50]  And seeing that is very humbling.
[00:30:52]  I am a huge fan of yours, and you're a hero in a variety of different ways because you haven't backed down on any of this politics stuff.
[00:30:58]  And my ask of you is: please don't stop because we need like a singular conservative athlete, like just one.
[00:31:05]  And, you know, especially a really good one, right?
[00:31:08]  I think we have like a third baseman on the Cincinnati Reds or something, but like we have you, okay, who's winning championships and is terrific.
[00:31:16]  And you're really an inspiration to our kids because you're literally fighting and you are standing up for this.
[00:31:22]  And you say, got a problem with it, then come give me your best shot.
[00:31:25]  And you look at yourself as a freedom fighter, which is totally extraordinary.
[00:31:29]  We're both fighting in just different ways.
[00:31:31]  That's true.
[00:31:31]  We're all fighters.
[00:31:32]  We just got different fights, you know?
[00:31:34]  And there's a reason I had to get into that fight is because I was sick of seeing all the political vessel that sports has come for leftist ideologies.
[00:31:42]  You know, it's just they're just trying to shove these woke thoughts down your throat, and they're not hearing two sides to the field, two sides to the story.
[00:31:49]  So, you know, that's why I'm proud to be there.
[00:31:52]  And I'm not going to stop fighting, Charlie.
[00:31:53]  We're just getting started.
[00:31:54]  Oh, I love it.
[00:31:56]  You're going to win.
[00:31:57]  Thanks, Colby, for coming.
[00:31:58]  It's been great.
[00:31:58]  Thanks so much, Charlie.
[00:31:59]  Appreciate you, brother.
[00:32:00]  Thank you.
[00:32:04]  Thank you guys for listening.
[00:32:05]  What a great episode.
[00:32:06]  If you want to get involved with Turning Point USA, the nation's largest student organization fighting for freedom and liberty on campuses across the country, go to tpusa.com, where we play offense with a sense of urgency to win America's culture war.
[00:32:18]  Get engaged, get involved so that we can push back against the leftist indoctrination happening in our country.
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[00:32:33]  And please listen to our sister episode.
[00:32:35]  Thank you guys so much for listening.
[00:32:36]  Talk to you soon.