Who would have thought that trash-talking could lead to such serious consequences? For many fighters, it’s just a playful way to hype up their upcoming bouts. But when a UFC sensation like Colby Covington aimed his jabs at an entire nation and one of their top fighters, it sparked outrage like never before. As Covington recounted the wild details of the fallout, he revealed that a $50,000 bounty was once placed on his head.

“I knew I was like going after that fight, I started talking mad smack,” said Covington to Daniel Cormier. “I was like, ‘Demian Maia, I’m going to come drop my n*ts on your head right in your hometown of Sao Paulo, Brazil. All you Brazilians are filthy animals and Brazil’s a dump.’ And I just knew going into that fight I had to do something different. Otherwise, I was going to lose my job…

[Then] all the Favela gang members showed up, and they were trying to kill me. They had to have the Secret Service of Brazil like escort me out. Put a hoodie on, a hat, keep my eyes down, and get on the next flight out right away… I was thinking I went too far. When the next fight, UFC tried to put me back in Rio for a title fight with RDA [Rafael dos Anjos]. And then they found out I had a $50,000 bounty on my head.”

The story dates back to 2017. Colby Covington was scheduled to face Demian Maia in his ninth UFC fight in Sao Paulo, Brazil. But before heading into the bout, a conversation with UFC matchmaker Sean Shelby sparked an idea in the American fighter’s mind. Unlike the current Covington, the old version of him hesitated to trash-talk his opponents.

However, ahead of his bout against Maia, ‘Chaos’ just threw personal digs at his opponent. In the process, he even insulted the entire nation of Brazil. Now, for those unaware, Demian Maia was already a veteran at that time. On top of that, Maia also clashed against Anderson Silva and Tyron Woodley for the UFC middleweight and welterweight titles.

All of this stemmed from his consistent performances in both divisions. Before facing Covington, Maia was already a well-known name and arguably one of Brazil’s most beloved fighters. The trash talk from a rising star like ‘Chaos’ directed at a standout fighter like Maia was enough to ignite unprecedented anger.

Although Covington won that bout against Maia by unanimous decision, the anger among Brazilian fans remained strong. This anger even played a role in the decision to change the dates of his next UFC bout.

UFC changed Colby Covington vs. Rafael dos Anjos date due to the $50,000 bounty, claims Covington

After a victory over Demian Maia, Colby Covington extended his four-fight winning streak to five. With that, Dana White & Co. saw him fit for a title opportunity. He would then fight one of the top-ranked welterweight contenders of that time, Rafael dos Anjos. Initially, UFC 224 was targeted for the fight in dos Anjos’ home country, Brazil.

However, as per Covington, the $50,000 bounty placed on his head after trash-talking about Maia and Brazil became one of the reasons behind the rescheduling of his bout against ‘RDA’.

“So they moved the whole show from Rio UFC all the way to Chicago, Illinois, for that fight,” Covington added in the aforementioned discussion.

The fight eventually took place at UFC 225 in Chicago. Covington defeated dos Anjos via unanimous decision and became the new interim welterweight champion. And with that, ‘Chaos’ became arguably one of the big names in the promotion at the time. To that end, he also received praise for being an exciting fighter from Dana White & Co.

So, right from that one conversation with UFC matchmaker Sean Shelby to becoming the interim welterweight champion, Covington had quite an experience reinventing his persona.