UFC: Colby Covington says American Top Team exit is ‘a blessing in disguise’ as he confirms split
- Covington ‘felt bad’ for putting gym founder Dan Lambert in ‘tough situation’ by trash talking teammates
- ‘I’m a member of Colby Covington Incorporated … it’s the best change that could ever happen to me’
Colby Covington has confirmed his departure from American Top Team after he was removed from the Coconut Creek, Florida gym’s welterweight roster on its website.
“I felt bad because of Dan in that situation,” Covington told ESPN’s Ariel Helwani. “For months, he’s coming to me, ‘Dude, you’re putting me in a tough situation. Everybody wants you out. You’re making the gym uneasy’. And I didn’t want to do that to him. I didn’t want to make his life tougher than it already is. He already has enough on his plate.
“I felt like it was best for me to move on, find some other coaches, find some other training partners and go about my business how I go about my business. The biggest thing is that we’re in America. Are we not entitled to our own opinion, don’t we have free speech?”
Masvidal and Poirier had both threatened a physical altercation with Covington (15-2), who fell to a fifth-round TKO defeat by welterweight champion Kamaru Usman at UFC 245 last December.
“All the people who are going to American Top Team and Dan Lambert and directing their complaints,” Covington said in another interview with theScore’s James Lynch. “Up in their feelings, ‘Oh I’m a pro fighter but I’m gonna go to Dan Lambert, hey Dan, I don’t wanna fight him in the cage because I know I can’t beat him but Dan, can you protect my precious little feelings?’”
