Former UFC interim welterweight world champion Colby Covington recently had a grappling session with famous rapper Lil Pump, and footage has gone viral of him choking the celebrity out. Lil Pump, born Gazzy Fabio Garcia, started his career as a SoundCloud rapper back in 2016 and earned worldwide fame with his self-titled debut album the very next year. He has since released a second album in 2019 to a similar level of success, and a third album in 2023. He has gotten in trouble with the law multiple times over the course of his career, but has never been known for any particular skill in combat sports.
Covington on the other hand might not be as well-known with the general public, but he has been one of the very best UFC fighters in his weight class for several years now. Covington went unbeaten on the regional MMA circuit before joining the UFC in 2014 and although he lost one fight the following year, his rise to the top of the welterweight division was very impressive. Covington won the interim title in 2018 and got a chance to fight for the undisputed title the following year, when he was 15-1. Covington has alternated wins and losses since then but is still ranked in the top five of his division and has an impressive 17-4 professional record at present.
It’s no surprise then that Colby Covington would get the better of any grappling exchange with Lil Pump, but it is a bit of a shock to see Covington choke him unconscious. The footage starts with Covington on Pump’s back with a gable-grip around his neck, applying a short choke with some effort. It looks as though Pump taps his own chest, but Covington switches his grips to a traditional rear-naked choke for the finish. It’s only seconds then until Pump slips into unconsciousness, and Covington releases the choke. Pump comes back around pretty quickly and although he’s a little confused at first, everything appears to be fine.
Lil Pump uploaded the footage of Colby Covington choking him out during a training session in a recent post to his official Instagram account:
