Former UFC Interim welterweight champion Colby Covington is officially set to take on Robbie Lawler at UFC Newark.
The news came as a shock to many as Covington has made it clear in the past that he wouldn’t accept another fight unless it was against the welterweight champion. The UFC fighter finally explained why he accepted the fight against the mma veteran, stating that he’s tired off waiting for Kamaru Usman (transcript courtesy of
mmafighting.com):
“I accepted right away,” Covington told
MMAJunkie Radio yesterday.
“Marty Fake Newsman, he’s out there faking injuries, who knows when he’s gonna fight again? He’s already been out for six or seven months. Who knows when he’ll be back. He’s making up different narratives and excuses each and every week. The show must go on. I’ve got to defend this title. I won this title and now it’s time to defend it.
Robbie Lawler’s a very worthy champion. If you go on the street right now and you ask a thousand people who they know better . . . between Marty Fake Newsman and Robbie Lawler, who are they gonna pick? Exactly. He’s a bigger name, he’s a legend of the game, a true champion, a true fight friendly - he appeases the fans. He has an exciting style and I’m excited to get in there with him because it’s gonna be a war. It’s on ESPN, it’s prime time. No one is ready for the bright lights and the big cities like Colby Chaos Covington.”
As mentioned above, Covington is highly complimentary of his opponent Robbie Lawler; however, the former interim welterweight champion had no problem throwing shots at his last opponent, Ben Askren:
“Robbie is a bigger name. “He looked impressive in that fight with Ben Asscream. He’s a better dad than Ben Asscream, he’s a better fighter, he’s better looking. He just does everything better than Asscream, so I’m excited. It’s a big, big opportunity and I shine brightest in those big opportunities, so this is my chance to really show to the UFC and to ESPN who the real champ is and who is the face of the UFC and that’s what I plan on doing.”
UFC on ESPN 5 takes place on August 3 in Newark, NJ.