Colby Covington removed from UFC rankings due to inactivity

Colby Covington has been dropped from the UFC's official welterweight rankings after a prolonged stretch of inactivity, the organization confirmed on April 21, 2026.

Covington, 38, holds a professional record of 17 wins and 5 losses and built his reputation as one of the most durable and wrestling-heavy fighters in the welterweight division. The American, who trains out of MMA Masters and fights out of an orthodox stance, stands five-foot-eleven with a 72-inch reach. Over his career he has averaged 3.64 takedowns per 15 minutes alongside 3.81 significant strikes landed per minute, numbers that once made him a consistent title contender. His most recent UFC appearance came in 2024, when he suffered a stoppage loss to Joaquin Buckley — a result that left him without a victory to build on heading into 2025.

In the time since that defeat, Covington has not secured another booking inside the Octagon. He did compete for the Russian promotion RAF, but that activity was not sufficient to satisfy the UFC's internal threshold for ranking retention. Off the canvas, Covington has also been entangled in a legal dispute involving Jorge Masvidal, further keeping his name in headlines for reasons unrelated to competition.

Why it matters

• Covington's removal signals the UFC enforcing its inactivity policy consistently, regardless of a fighter's past profile or star power.
• The welterweight division's ranking landscape shifts slightly, potentially elevating other contenders sitting just outside the top tier.
• At 38, Covington would need to negotiate a return bout and win to re-enter the rankings picture, raising questions about the next stage of his career.