Colby Covington has been removed from the UFC rankings due to a lack of fights. Covington last competed against Joaquin Buckley in 2024, losing by stoppage. Since then, he has been inactive in the UFC, instead engaging in legal proceedings with Jorge Masvidal and competing in the RAF promotion. The UFC typically removes fighters from rankings after extended periods of inactivity. No information was provided about when or if Covington plans to return to active UFC competition.
Colby Covington has been dropped from the UFC's official welterweight rankings, with the promotion removing the 38-year-old American after an extended stretch without a UFC appearance.
Covington, who fights out of MMA Masters and carries a professional record of 17-5, last stepped into the octagon in 2024 when he suffered a stoppage loss to Joaquin Buckley. Since that defeat, "Chaos" has been absent from UFC competition, occupying himself with legal proceedings involving Jorge Masvidal and a stint competing under the RAF promotion banner. The UFC applies a standard policy of removing fighters from its rankings when inactivity stretches beyond an accepted window, and Covington has now fallen victim to that process. No timeline for a potential return to the UFC has been announced.
The man who handed Covington that final loss, Joaquin Buckley, holds a record of 21-8 and currently sits at number 11 in the welterweight division. The 32-year-old southpaw out of Murcielago MMA carries a 76-inch reach and lands 3.88 significant strikes per minute, and his stoppage of Covington proved to be a meaningful result in the 170-pound landscape.
Jorge Masvidal, the 41-year-old "Gamebred" from American Top Team, factors into the off-cage storyline through the reported legal proceedings with Covington. Masvidal holds a 35-17 record and has long been one of the more recognizable names in the welterweight division.
Why it matters
- Covington's removal creates an opening in a welterweight rankings picture that is already in flux
- His absence confirms a meaningful gap at the top of the 170-pound division, where former contenders carry significant name value
- The legal and promotional distractions surrounding Covington add uncertainty to any potential comeback timeline
- No official word from the UFC or Covington's camp suggests a return is imminent
