A Welterweight Bout Between Covington vs. Lawler Finalized For UFC Newark On August 3
I guess Colby Covington is tired of waiting for current division’s champion Kamaru Usman who recently underwent shoulder surgery after scoring a 170-pound title from Tyron Woodley, instead now ‘Chaos’ will square off against Robbie Lawler in the main headliner of UFC Fight Night on August 3 from inside the Prudential Center Newark, New Jersey. ESPN’s Brett Okamoto reported the news after confirming with UFC president Dana White last night.
“UFC needed a main event on short notice, so I agreed to defend my title in my first defense against the last real champion this division has had,” Covington told Ariel Helwani.
Breaking: Colby Covington vs. Robbie Lawler has been verbally agreed to headline UFC Fight Night on Aug. 3 in Newark, per UFC president Dana White and additional sources. pic.twitter.com/hx8XeqZNMy
— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) June 25, 2019
Covington last fought in June 2018 where he won the interim title via fifth round decision win over Rafael dos Anjos. Due to in-activity inside the Octagon UFC stripped him of that title.
Meanwhile, Lawler recently suffered a controversial submission loss from the hands of Ben Askren at UFC 235. Before that setback, Lawler sat on the shelf for the second half of 2018 with torn ACL.
Following the news of Covington vs. Lawler booking, Kamaru Usman issues a statement:
Statement from UFC champ Kamaru Usman (@USMAN84kg), per his manager Ali Abdelaziz (@AliAbdelaziz00). “I should be ready to go by November. Whoever Dana White says is next. He’s the boss. If Askren looks good and that’s who the UFC wants, he’s next.”
Statement from UFC champ Kamaru Usman (@USMAN84kg), per his manager Ali Abdelaziz (@AliAbdelaziz00). “I should be ready to go by November. Whoever Dana White says is next. He’s the boss. If Askren looks good and that’s who the UFC wants, he’s next.”
— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) June 25, 2019
Who do you think will emerge victoriously at UFC Newark when Covington and Robbie throwdown?
