“We used to train together all the time,” said Covington of Lawler. “When he was getting ready for Johny Hendricks, he needed a southpaw wrestler and that’s exactly what I am, so I helped him for both Hendricks fights, I helped him for the Rory MacDonald fight and we trained a lot together. I built him back up and I gotta take a lot of credit for what he did because he came to us at American Top Team a broken man. He started training with me every day and then all of a sudden he went on a great winning streak and went on to legendary status. He wouldn’t have done that without us at American Top Team, and more importantly, I was his main training partner. So I felt like he turned his back on us and he turned his back on me, so that’s why this fight is very personal to me.”
Lawler, as is his custom, chooses not to fire back or get into a war of words with his former teammate. “Ruthless” tends to let his fists do the talking for him, and Covington has likely tasted that power before. But with the two several years removed from their sparring sessions, is there anything to be applied to their fight this weekend?
“I don’t really take away too much from that,” said Covington. “It doesn’t apply. It was a different time in our life, and more importantly, we were going with 16-ounce gloves, and when we fight this weekend, it’s going to be with four-ounce gloves, so if you make a mistake in the gym, you’re not gonna pay for it like you will if you make a mistake in the UFC Octagon. So I don’t take too much away from those training sessions. I’m just focused on the best Robbie Lawler on August 3rd.”
As for August 4th?
“They gotta let me unify my title,” he said. “They’ve seen that I’ve won a title, no one beat me for that title, then I’m gonna go out there and go fight the last real champion the division’s had in Robbie Lawler, a legend in the game and probably the biggest name in the division. I go out there and put on a nice, exciting fight and finish Robbie Lawler, there’s no way I can be denied.”
