Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
The UFC #1 welterweight contender made reference to Matt Hughes’ near-fatal accident in his post-fight speech at UFC Newark.
UFC welterweight contender Colby Covington was too much for Robbie Lawler to handle, as he took a shutout unanimous decision in Saturday’s UFC Newark main event to secure a title shot vs. Kamaru Usman.
As ever, Covington had something provocative to say in the post-fight interview. He took a swipe at former UFC welterweight champion Matt Hughes, a former teammate of Lawler at Miletich Fighting Systems.
“Let’s talk about the lesson we learned tonight. It’s a strong lesson Robbie should have learned a lesson from his buddy Matt Hughes. You stay off the tracks when the train is coming through, junior. Doesn’t matter if it’s the Trump train or the Colby train, get out the way,” Covington said.
This is in obvious reference to the near-fatal train accident that Hughes was in back in June 2017. Hughes was briefly in a coma, having suffered a serious brain injury when he was struck by the locomotive in his home state of Illnois.
Hughes has since responded to Covington’s comments in an Instagram post.
“Not sure if [Colby Covington] should have used my accident as fuel for his post-fight trash talk, but that was one heck of a fight,” Hughes said. “Nice win for [American Top Team], and [Robbie Lawler] always puts on a good fight. Reminder though, this is the fighting world. People trash talk and you gotta have thick skin.”