Having trained together at American Top Team, Robbie Lawler and Colby Covington have crossed paths before. Now, they’ll face off in the main event of UFC Newark — and Covington’s usual antics don’t seem to have gotten to ‘Ruthless.’
Newark, NJ — In one corner, you have a former interim champ who has turned the self-promotion dial up to 11. In another, an unflappable, reserved former champ who will not be baited into trash talk. That’s the scenario ahead of the welterweight main event at UFC Newark, which features Colby Covington vs. Robbie Lawler.
Lawler, as Covington would later in the evening, skipped Wednesday’s open workout, but did take photographs with fans. He also spoke to the media, including Cageside Press, and addressed how much — or more accurately, how little — Covington’s talk ahead of the fight had affected him.
“I don’t really pay much attention to what everyone’s saying. I have a hard enough time just focusing on myself, getting myself ready,” Lawler said. Covington started out respectfully enough, but as of late, has hinted at PED use being behind Lawler’s late career success. If Lawler is bothered, he didn’t show it Wednesday. “It’s a tough task to go in every day, work hard, grind away, be a father, be a husband. Those are the things I try to focus on, how I can grow and get better. So it doesn’t really matter what anyone else is saying.”
Lawler had little to say about whether Covington’s gimmick — the MAGA-hat wearing, pompous heel — is legit. “I don’t pay attention to much of what anybody does, other than myself. People can do whatever they want, and more power to whoever, and however they want to act. It’s up to them.”
“I’m just going to be me,” said Lawler. “Worry about myself, stay in my own lane, and work.”
Lawler did, prompted by Cageside Press, describe the Covington he remembers early on. “He’s a good wrestler, a guy who’s willing to grind, a guy who’s willing to put in a lot of hard work. He’s learned a lot, and he’s a good fighter.”
Covington is also a former teammate at ATT. Lawler has since moved to Hard Knocks 365, and said there’s no added motivation because of their prior association. “It’s a fight. I’m a professional, I’ve been doing this my whole life,” he said. “I’ve fought a lot of guys. It’s just another day, show up and compete and do what I’ve done my whole life. Which is train, and fight. It’s who I am.”
“I’m cool with the road I’ve taken. I have no animosity to anybody at that gym. I’m just moving forward, growing, and getting better. It is what it is,” he added. “I’m not at that gym anymore, I’m at Hard Knocks doing my thing, growing, and worried about myself.”
Asked why he made the move, Lawler retorted “because I felt like going, like a grown up.” Perhaps some talk is getting to him after all.
Watch the full UFC Newark open workout press scrum with Robbie Lawler above!
