UFC fighter Colby Covington has rubbed plenty of people up the wrong way but it appears as though movie star Megan Fox enjoys his schtick, as per a leaked direct message.
The former interim UFC welterweight champion is one of the most controversial fighters ever to step foot in MMA and never afraid to make comments which could cause offence and land him in trouble.
'Chaos' got into it with Paddy Pimblett after UFC 314 in Miami on Saturday, with security having to restrain the two.
But Covington has revealed he has a huge admirer in Transformers star Fox, even sharing the DM he received from the 38-year-old where she showered him with praise.
Covington recently appeared on a stream hosted by Kick streamer N3on and said he was stunned to receive a message after one of his fights.
"My whole life, the baddest b***h, I always thought it was Megan Fox," Covington said.
"After one of my fight, she messaged me, dude! She was just like, ‘Colby, you’re my favorite UFC bad guy.’ And she’s in my DMs.”
With the fighter's phone in hand, N3on asked Covington if he could read the message "out loud" and did so after getting permission.
According to the message, Fox compared Covington to UFC legend Chael Sonnen and said he was "sensitive, sweet person" and "so funny and talented".
"Rooting for you tonight," read the message that N3on delivered.
"You are my favorite UFC bad guy since Chael [Sonnen]. It’s probably hard to keep that character all the time when you are naturally a more sensitive, sweet person. It’s worth it. "You are so funny and talented! You deserve to be a superstar.”
Fox, who welcomed a child with rapper Machine Gun Kelly in March, is a huge UFC fan and has been seen cageside at multiple events, including UFC 229, UFC 260, UFC 261 and UFC 262.
Megan Fox has regularly been seen at UFC events. Image: Getty Her words of encouragement haven't had much of an impact on Covington in recent times though as his last victory came back in March 2022 when he beat Jorge Masvidal.
Covington has suffered consecutive losses to both Leon Edwards and Joaquin Buckley, the latter defeat coming via doctor stoppage in December due to a cut above his eye.
He had taken the fight on short notice as a replacement for Ian Machado Garry.