Chris Moneymaker is one of the biggest names in the history of poker. That’s largely thanks to him winning the 2003 World Series of Poker (WSOP)—because he was the first to do so by qualifying online. Moneymaker, who was working as an accountant at the time, entered an online satellite tournament for just $86, won it, and went on to nab the WSOP Main Event’s grand prize of over $2.5 million.
Because of his improbable victory, Moneymaker ignited the early 2000s poker boom. That’s a legacy he continues to uphold today through his work with America’s Card Room. As the main ambassador of the US’ biggest online poker site, he’s helping to inspire unique digital promotions like the Sunday Moneymaker and has even been able to organize his very own poker tournament—the Moneymaker Tour—that aims to help other players reach the same level of success as he has throughout his career.
It’s precisely due to Moneymaker’s legacy that more people can now play online and make their way to prestigious tournaments like the WSOP. One person who was able to do so is UFC’s #9 welterweight fighter, Colby Covington. Undoubtedly among the most entertaining fighters in the business when he is cutting a promo, Covington is known for making brash and often controversial statements. However, he’s also played in professional tournaments since 2012, including the WSOP.
Ever since he started playing competitive poker the same year he made his Welterweight debut, Covington has arguably become a Moneymaker outside of the Octagon in his own right. Here’s why:
Credit: World Poker Tour on Flickr via CC BY-ND 2.0 – no changes were made to the image
From online poker and wrestling to professional tournaments
Covington definitely earned his nickname “Chaos” in the Octagon. Despite his supposedly career-ending departure from the leading MMA team American Top Team, as well as his recent losses, he remains one of the UFC’s top fighters in the Welterweight division—at one point, he was even the interim champion—with a total career record of 17-5.
That success can be attributed to his strong wrestling background, which is something he happens to share with Moneymaker. Both of them were part of their high school wrestling teams, with Moneymaker initially not meeting success due to his slight frame at the time. In a post on the America’s Card Room blog for Never Give Up Day, he explained that he compensated for his opponents’ weight advantages by training in various summer wrestling camps, allowing him to improve significantly and nab his first wrestling wins. Though Moneymaker didn’t pursue wrestling as he got older, Covington did. He was a decorated collegiate athlete, earning All-American honors and becoming a two-time Pac-10 Conference champion in his early career.
Where the two wrestlers again converge, however, is in poker. Covington got into the card game at the height of the poker boom in 2008, while he was a collegiate wrestler in Iowa—and, fittingly, he started out by playing online, just like Moneymaker. That led him to participate in his first professional tournament in June 2012, a mere four months after his welterweight debut. By September, he won his top prize for the first time at the Everglades Poker Open in Hollywood. Since then, Covington has consistently participated in competitive poker tournaments. At times, he even played in the same events as Moneymaker—including last December’s WSOP Paradise.
Day 3 at the WSOP in paradise watch the king of chaos secure the bag live on Twitch! https://t.co/vUxpNwnegs @bcgame pic.twitter.com/PiqkuKqYYk
— Colby Covington (@ColbyCovMMA) December 19, 2024
How Covington’s competitive poker career compares so far
Covington’s had a pretty impressive poker career thus far, especially considering that he’s simultaneously been fighting in the UFC since 2014. In the Octagon, he only experienced his first loss three years after his Welterweight debut. Similarly, he’s been able to nab impressive wins on the poker circuit. Covington has placed in the top five at multiple prestigious tournaments. That includes the World Poker Tour and, just like Moneymaker, the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open (SHRPO). Moneymaker, who participated in the 2019 SHRPO Championship, finished 31st—while Covington actually won the top prize at its Omaha 8 or Better event in 2022.
That’s why it’s no surprise that the former Welterweight interim champ was confident enough to join none other than the WSOP Main Event last year. This was his third attempt at winning the bracelet, and it was his first time to make the final rankings, as well: he finished 1,077th out of more than 15,000 players on Day 7. Covington significantly improved that performance half a year later, right after his loss at UFC Tampa. He and Moneymaker both bowed out in 10th place at different WSOP Paradise events—Bracelet Events #12 and #9, respectively.
With Covington most recently participating in a WSOP Circuit Ring Event last February, it’s clear that he won’t stop playing poker competitively anytime soon. Given his recent successes—and the fact that Moneymaker has a nearly 10-year headstart on him when it comes to participating in professional tournaments—he’s definitely coming into his own as another Moneymaker outside the Octagon.
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