Former interim UFC lightweight champion Colby Covington accepted a challenge from a TikTok influencer resulting in a laughable beatdown of the young star.

Covington agreed to spar Kaz Sawyer, a 23-year-old content creator with a whopping nine million TikTok followers, with another near two million followers on Instagram.

"Today, we're sparring!" Covington screamed at the start of the video. The two set rules that the UFC star could only try to defend himself, not throw punches, while the influencer was allowed to punch, kick, and try to tackle him.

'Anyone comes around here thinking they're tough, they end up like that.'

"I think I'm tapping him out," Sawyer jokingly said before the spar started.

Sawyer began by saying it was "pretty intense" to step into the cage, but then gained some confidence when he realized Covington wasn't allowed to hit back.

Showcasing the stark difference between a trained fighter and a regular person, the influencer barely landed any strikes on the evasive Covington throughout the sparring session, even with the slanted rules.

After tiring himself out, Sawyer noted he was "exhausted," at which point, Covington decided he didn't want to follow the rules anymore.
"Now, it's my turn," the 170-pound fighter said.

"This is not a part of the rules!" Sawyer screamed as Covington began posturing to throw punches.

Covington toyed with Sawyer as he landed body punches and eventually grabbed a hold of the young creator.

"Colby! Stop!" the influencer yelled.

"He's gonna take a nice little trip to the hospital," Covington joked after playfully slamming the influencer to the mat.

What made the video more shocking was that Covington didn't even take off his hat for the duration of the sparring session.

"That's what happens to virgins around here!" Covington yelled as Sawyer was sarcastically taken away in a wheelchair. "We take you to the hospital, we take your lunch money, we stuff you into lockers. We give you a good swirly," the fighter continued. "Anyone comes around here thinking they're tough, they end up like that."

UFC fighters have increasingly accepted challenges from online commentators and influencers in recent years, something that would have been unheard of for previous generations of fighters. Whether it is to expand their online reach or to simply show their talent level compared to a commoner, fighters are popping up on a lot of social media feeds.

This was as least the second time Covington strapped up his gloves to spar with an influencer; the welterweight toyed with a YouTuber named Lofe in late 2023 but didn't take it as easy on the young star, who admittedly has martial arts training.

Similarly, former UFC champion Sean Strickland has accepted challenges as well. However, Strickland informs his opponents before stepping in the cage that he will not be holding back at all. This included a challenge from commentator Sneako in February 2024, when Strickland more than likely caused a concussion to yet another young online personality.

Joe Rogan reacted to that video negatively, saying it's "not a good look" for a fighter.

"He beat the s*** out of that guy. I don't know why he wanted to do that," Rogan continued. "It's not fair," he added.

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