Colby Covington put on arguably the most impressive performance of his career on Saturday night, dominating former champion Robbie Lawler on route to a unanimous decision win.
‘Chaos’ utilized a tremendous pace, which included a high volume of strikes and some timely takedowns, to overwhelm the ‘Ruthless’ one.
The one black eye on Covington’s performance came in his post-fight interview with Jon Anik where he took a shot at UFC legend Matt Hughes.
“Let’s talk about the lesson we learned here tonight.” Colby Covington said. “It’s a lesson Robbie Lawler should have learned from Matt Hughes. You stay off the track when the train is coming through. Doesn’t matter if it’s the Trump train or the Colby train, stay out the way.”
Those comments were deemed highly controversial by many fighters and members of the MMA Community and for good reason. For those who don’t remember, Hughes was seriously injured during a train accident in June of 2017. That collision left the UFC Hall of Famer with head trauma and lifelong injuries.
Check out what some pros fighters and the MMA Community had to say about the comments made by Colby Covington about Matt Hughes below.
https://twitter.com/TWooodley/status/1157887700650856448?s=20
What a fukin idiot he’s gonna wish he didn’t just say that
— Stevie Ray (@StevenRayMMA) August 3, 2019
As much as @ColbyCovMMA makes us cringe…we can’t deny he’s no joke with that crazy pressure and pace!! #UFCNewark
— Alex Volkanovski (@alexvolkanovski) August 3, 2019
A Matt Hughes train joke. Jesus. #UFCNewark
— Seán Sheehan (@SeanSheehanBA) August 3, 2019
Definitely didn't expect Matt Hughes getting hit by a train to be referenced post-fight! https://t.co/Dq77SZh3nB
— Robbie Fox (@RobbieBarstool) August 3, 2019
Did Colby just… made a joke using Matt Hughes getting hit by a train? My god.
— Guilherme Cruz (@guicruzzz) August 3, 2019
That Matt Hughes train line was foul.
— Chamatkar Sandhu (@SandhuMMA) August 3, 2019
https://twitter.com/JESnowden/status/1157776456077979649?s=20
Did @ColbyCovMMA just make a train joke about matt hughes. Wow what the fuck! @ufc
— Robert Kelly (@robertkelly) August 3, 2019
When asked about his thoughts on Covington’s controversial post-fight comments, Robbie Lawler said he had “no comment”.
Colby Covington would later respond to his critics, which he referred to as ‘snowflakes’, with the following message.
“Not at all,” Covington said when asked if he felt his comments were out of line. “Did I say something that was offensive? The guy’s done some pretty crappy stuff, he’s got lawsuits against his family, against his brother, I just said the truth, I’m honest. I’m a little bit brutally honest sometimes and people can’t handle it.”
Matt Hughes would also release a statement on social media which you can read here.
Colby Covington will now receive his long awaited undisputed welterweight title opportunity when he squares off with reigning division champion Kamaru Usman later this year.
What did you think of the comments made by Colby Covington regarding Matt Hughes in his post-fight interview at UFC Newark? Sound off in the comments section PENN Nation!
This article first appeared on BJPENN.com August 4, 2019