Themba Gorimbo Invites Colby Covington to Fight After UFC
Themba Gorimbo responded after video from a UFC Performance Institute livestream appeared to show Colby Covington avoiding a face-to-face encounter in the gym. Gorimbo posted on X on March 5, 2025, saying he had no interest in starting trouble and inviting Covington to pursue a fight if he considered him an easy opponent. The exchange revived attention around a personal falling-out between the two welterweights.
Livestream captured Covington changing course
In footage from Covington’s livestream, he entered a training area at the UFC PI, noticed Gorimbo working out, and turned back toward the stairs. Covington referred to Gorimbo as “ungrateful,” a remark captured in the video. The footage showed a brief near-encounter, not a physical confrontation; the fighters did not exchange blows or have a face-to-face argument on camera.
Gorimbo replied online with a conciliatory tone mixed with a challenge. He said he still liked Covington, suggested the former interim champion did not need to be afraid of him, and invited him to request the matchup. Gorimbo also acknowledged that he had work to do before reaching the rankings, while framing a fight with Covington as a possible route toward that goal. No bout between them was announced.
A falling-out between former training partners
The tension followed a relationship that had once been friendly. Gorimbo previously said Covington had helped him when he was struggling financially and had provided food at the gym. He later described a disagreement at the Performance Institute in December 2023, alleging that Covington had him removed from the facility while preparing for a title fight. Covington has offered his own public remarks, and the details of the earlier dispute come from the fighters’ accounts rather than an independent UFC investigation.
By March 2025, both were trying to rebound from losses. Gorimbo had dropped a four-fight winning streak with a defeat to Vicente Luque at UFC 310. Covington was coming off consecutive losses to Leon Edwards and Joaquin Buckley. Their online exchange created speculation about a possible matchup, but neither the UFC nor the fighters confirmed one.
Talk did not turn into a booked fight
The incident generated attention because it combined a visible moment at the UFC PI with an existing personal disagreement. Still, the footage showed Covington leaving the training area, and Gorimbo’s response was an invitation rather than a report that a fight had been agreed. The pair did not meet in the Octagon as a result of the exchange.
The proposed matchup never happened
Gorimbo’s UFC profile lists a split-decision loss to Jonathan Micallef on May 2, 2026, and MMA Fighting reported later that month that Gorimbo announced his retirement from MMA. The callout did not lead to a fight with Covington.
The UFC’s fight history records the May result; MMA Fighting covered the retirement announcement.
MMA Mania published the livestream clip, and BJPenn reported Gorimbo’s response. Their accounts provide the context behind the brief gym encounter.
