According to Bo Nickal, Colby Covington is lying about a fight offer against him at the White House.

Covington (17-5 MMA, 12-5 UFC) and Nickal (8-1 MMA, 5-1 UFC) have been going back and forth recently, building tension in shared spaces at Real American Freestyle events and on social media. Nickal is currently slated to face Kyle Daukaus at UFC Freedom 250 on the White House lawn, which he said came together after Covington passed on the matchup. Nickal also tried to offer Covington the spot after the announcement was made, since Daukaus had not yet signed the contract.

“That’s 100 percent fake news, Ariel,” Covington said Wednesday on “The Ariel Helwani Show.” “We could call Hunter Campbell right now. I’ll put him on the phone right now. He never offered me Bo for the White House. I said I’d fight any man. I’d fight Bo – we can go any weight class.

“I asked him, if I fight Bo, is this gonna be on the White House? ‘No, no, we only got limited spots.’ This is exact words from Hunter. I said, ‘OK, well, if you only have limited spots, and I can’t fight Bo at the White House, I’m fighting at my normal weight class. I’m gonna fight at 170, because I only walk around at 185, 190. Why would I fight at middleweight against some nobody who’s never been in a main event in his life? … No, the fight was never offered at the White House.”

Covington, who competes at welterweight, would have to move up to middleweight to face Nickal. According to the former interim 170-pound champ, it doesn’t make sense for him to not only enter a matchup against Nickal as the smaller man, but also reward Nickal with that advantage when he hasn’t earned it.

Nickal saw Covington’s words and refuted his statements.

“Colby is a liar,” Nickal wrote on X. “1. There are text message receipts of him being offered the fight. 2. I saw him weigh in at RAF with my own eyes at 198lbs.

“He will never fight me because he knows I’ll kill him.”

Colby is a liar.

1. There are text message receipts of him being offered the fight.
2. I saw him weigh in at RAF with my own eyes at 198lbs.

He will never fight me because he knows I’ll kill him. https://t.co/DvpzA9jVnZ

— Bo Nickal (@NoBickal) March 25, 2026

Covington was last in action in December 2024, where he lost to Joaquin Buckley by TKO. He’s currently on a two-fight skid, with his last win coming in a unanimous decision over Jorge Masvidal at UFC 272 in March 2022.

On the other hand, Nickal has been regularly active as he navigates the division, recently rebounding from his first career loss to Reinier de Ridder last May with a stoppage win of Rodolfo Vieira at UFC 322 in November.

This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: ‘Colby is a liar’: Bo Nickal refutes Covington’s UFC White House claim