It turns out Colby Covington is a real American at UFC Tampa.
The always outspoken welterweight made quite a splash on Saturday night as he walked to the octagon flanked by WWE Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan and his iconic theme song made famous during his professional wrestling career.
It’s been a couple of days filled with guest appearances alongside Covington as he first welcomed Chael Sonnen to the stage to cut a promo for him at the official weigh-ins on Friday before inviting Hogan to be his wingman ahead of his fight on Saturday.
Colby Covington walks out with Hulk Hogan at #UFCTampa pic.twitter.com/74jmgE2k8G
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) December 15, 2024
Covington befriended Hogan during the 2024 presidential campaign as both made constant appearances at Donald Trump rallies and events prior to his election in November. Hogan even spoke on Trump’s behalf at the 2024 Republican National Convention, which also featured a speech from UFC CEO Dana White.
Prior to his walkout, UFC play-by-play man Brendan Fitzgerald teased that Covington had something special in the works when he previewed the event with MMA Fighting.
“Don’t miss the Colby walkout,” Fitzgerald said. “That’s all I’m going to say. It’s going to be a moment, going to be fun.”
It looks like Fitzgerald’s prediction paid off with Covington serving as the final walkout in the UFC for 2024 with Hogan by his side.
While Covington using Hogan’s iconic track “Real American” by musician Rick Derringer made quite a splash, he’s actually not the first fighter to use that song in the UFC. Tom Lawlor made a memorable entrance to the same song back at UFC on Fuel TV 3 back in 2012.
