diff --git a/src/wp-includes/wp-db.php b/src/wp-includes/wp-db.php
index 00aa316..f4f0826 100644
--- a/src/wp-includes/wp-db.php
+++ b/src/wp-includes/wp-db.php
@@ -788,10 +788,8 @@ class wpdb {
 			}
 		}
 
-		// _unicode_520_ is a better collation, we should try to use that when it's available.
-		if ( defined( 'DB_COLLATE' ) && DB_COLLATE ) {
-			$collate = DB_COLLATE;
-		} elseif ( $this->has_cap( 'utf8mb4_520' ) && 'utf8mb4_unicode_ci' === $collate ) {
+		// _unicode_520_ is a better collation, we should use that when it's available.
+		if ( $this->has_cap( 'utf8mb4_520' ) && 'utf8mb4_unicode_ci' === $collate ) {
 			$collate = 'utf8mb4_unicode_520_ci';
 		}