Colby Covington turned to former US President Donald Trump for coaching advice ahead of his UFC world title fight against Leon Edwards.
Covington serves as one half of the UFC 296 main event on Saturday when he fights welterweight champion Edwards in Las Vegas. The divisive American hasn't fought since beating old friend turned bitter rival Jorge Masvidal last March as he looks to become an undisputed champion in his third shot at the belt.
Former US President Trump is a big UFC fan and Covington is one of his favourite fighters in the promotion. Covington took his interim world title to the White House and put it on Trump's desk when he served as President and the ex-leader will be cageside to watch 'Chaos' in action against Edwards.
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"He is my good friend, it's not like I was just meeting up with him every couple of months. I was at his house in Mar a Lago a couple of weeks ago, I call him regularly to ask him about a gameplan. He's given me great coaching advice for this fight. "Trump is the better fighter [than me], that guy has knuckles like lunchboxes," Covington told Mirror Fighting.
"That guy is so big that he would destroy me if we fought. I have the most important and famous person on planet earth coming to my fights to watch me front row. Who does Leon have? Does he have the royal family, Paddington the Bear or Mary f****ng Poppins coming? Leon is a nobody, he is the B-side and I'm the A-side."
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Covington has been supporting Trump in his run for the 2024 US presidential election and recently had dinner with 77-year-old. The pair often play golf together at Trump's golf club in Florida and Covington insisted the former President could easily join the PGA tour if he wanted to.
"The guy is a PGA tour level professional golfer, he shoots under par. It's incredible to watch him and his golf swing, he is dedicated to his craft and the sport of golf. I would like to go out there and watch him, sit in the golf cart sometime to just be amazed how good Trump is at golf. He is the smartest and best president we've had in the history of America," he added.