Covington's manager: I wouldn't have made that comment about Hughes
Colby Covington's manager isn't a fan of the welterweight's controversial post-fight comment at UFC Newark, but Dan Lambert said it's ultimately not his business despite his close friendship with Matt Hughes.
Colby Covington: Let's talk about a lesson, Robbie Lawler should have learned from Matt Hughes. Get off the tracks when the train is coming.
— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) August 3, 2019
Wow.
Hughes suffered a serious brain injury in June 2017 after his pickup truck was struck by a train in Illinois. The former welterweight champion was a longtime training partner of Robbie Lawler, who lost to Covington by unanimous decision in Saturday's main event.
"It's not what I would have said," Lambert told theScore. "It's just not my position to be disappointed in what he says or how he does it."
Lambert added, "Matt's one of the closest friends I have on this planet. (But) I'm not the social media police or the hall monitor. I'm not worried about what people do and say outside of our gym. ...
"He's a grown man with thick skin and if you think Matt Hughes wants me to get involved every time somebody says something mean about him, you don't know Matt Hughes."
Covington's controversial speech after defeating Lawler drew attention away from his performance. However, Lambert said it's not a problem as long as Covington's comments don't impact American Top Team, the Lambert-owned gym where Covington trains.
"If (it's) something that becomes an issue in the gym - like the post-Demian Maia interview was an issue with (Brazilian fighters) in the gym - we sit them down and we address it," Lambert said.
Watch the full interview with Lambert below and subscribe to theScoreMMA YouTube channel here.