Colby Covington is keeping the heat on upcoming opponent Robbie Lawler.
‘Chaos’ will take on ‘Ruthless’ in the main event of this Saturday’s (Sat., August 3, 2019) UFC on ESPN 5 from Newark, New Jersey. In the lead-up to the fight, Covington had stirred up some trash talk by claiming Lawler left American Top Team (ATT) because of a photo in the gym. He also made some bold, violent claims about the fight result based on Lawler’s supposed departure from ATT. Finally, he insisted Lawler is on steroids as well.
For his part, the always-stoic Lawler chose to brush off Covington’s trash talk as he usually does. He claims he gives no thought to what Covington thinks of him. Based on his demeanor, it’s not hard to believe that. However, Covington says that’s merely an act. Speaking in a pre-fight scrum at the UFC Newark open workouts via MMA Fighting, Covington offered the view that Lawler is ‘putting on a front’ for the media:
“Robbie is who he is. He puts on a front for the media. That’s not who he really is. And he’s just showing up because he has to show up and he doesn’t want to get fined. He’s not showing up like me, really putting on a show entertaining these fans.”
High Stakes For Covington
The stakes are high for Covington in Newark. Dana White recently said he’ll get a title shot with a win over ‘Ruthless,’ a fight most thought he already had. It’s a fight where ‘Chaos’ has little to gain and a lot to lose. Lawler hasn’t won in the Octagon in over two years and is ranked outside the top 10, while Covington has a lengthy win streak intact.
He’s trying to build up a beef with a fighter who obviously won’t engage in it. Covington says that persona is unrealistic, however.
Do you believe that Lawler is someone different than he portrays in front of the media?
