UFC champ visits Sweet Home – again

UFC welterweight champion Colby Covington paid a spur-of-the-moment visit to the Santiam Wrestling Camp Monday night, July 9, at Sweet Home High School. Covington, who wrestled for Thurston High School, whose coach, Mike Simons, is one of the camp leaders, signed autographs and talked with campers about how he climbed the ladder in mixed martial arts and how to set goals and achieve them, not letting anything get in the way. Covington was a national champion at Iowa Central Community College,then transferred to Oregon State, where he was an All-American. Though he portrays a “bad guy” persona in UFC, Sweet Home Coach Steve Thorpe said Covington is “humble and free with his time. He comes home and goes and sees old friends.” He noted that Covington was a participant in the Santiam camp in 2004 through 2006, even before the camp became the training camp for the national team. “Love him or hate him, he’s a great guy,” Thorpe said. “It’s fun to be able to shoot a guy an instant message before a championship fight and he responds back.”