Colby Covington seems to have perfected the art of trolling, but considering how widely spread conspiracy theories are in MMA, we can never be sure.
During a recent episode of Timcast IRL, Covington talked about how his hands were considered deadly weapons. He stated, “That’s a law when you become a professional fighter, you have to register your hands with the police.”
“You are supposed to. I never ended up doing it because I knew I was never going to break a law. I handle my business in the cage, where we get paid a lot of money to fight people. I would never assault someone outside the cage. I would never have to deal with that.”
Considering how often Covington trolls, there were many skeptical commenters on the video.
This urban myth has been debunked several times.
Last year, Mike Tyson got into a scrap with a passenger on a JetBlue flight. At that time, there were viral jokes on social media claiming that Tyson’s hands needed to be registered as weapons.
Interestingly, it has been part of the combat sports mythos since the ’50s. Boxer Joe Louis used to register his hands with the police as deadly. This was nothing but an incredibly successful publicity stunt.
While several netizens believed Covington couldn’t possibly be serious, FullContactMTWF was quick to point out that Covington had told this story before in a serious interview given to Candace Owens last year.
FullContactMTWF account also pointed out: “If he was trolling, it’s a bad move given the setting. Look at all the YouTube comments and people in the chat calling him an idiot.”
And that’s exactly what we did.
Tim Pool was the first to notice how unhinged that Covington theory was and offered that perhaps that was why martial artists get charged with aggravated assault.
“I heard that when I was little they said that if you get a black belt, as a kid they say it makes your hands deadly weapons. As an adult, I was told it makes assault aggravated. Like if you’re a trained fighter and you commit a crime, it’s an aggravated crime. As if a regular person had a weapon, you being trained aggravates it or something.”
Assault refers to the intentional act of causing fear or apprehension of harm, while aggravated assault involves more severe elements, such as the use of a deadly weapon or the intent to cause serious injury. The exact definitions and legal consequences may vary by jurisdiction, so it’s important to consult specific laws and regulations in the relevant jurisdiction to obtain precise information on how these offenses are defined and treated in a particular area.