Tyron Woodley is incomparable according to Dan Lambert. The American Top Team owner has a very high opinion of the welterweight champion of the UFC, who is not only a longtime friend of Lambert’s but an owner of an affiliate of the ATT in Missouri as well.
Lambert said that he had more respect for Woodley than any other fighter that had ever entered their gym. He explained that Woodley was simply an all-round good guy, and that Lambert loved him like a brother. So it is understandable that Colby Covington’s comments about Woodley are rubbing Lambert up the wrong way.
Covington Has No Problem Getting Personal
As punters who enjoy the MMA sports betting NZ and the rest of the world has to offer will well know, some of the trash talk Covington spews crosses the line into personal territory. The goal, of course, is for Covington to get a shot at the title, and it is pretty obvious that he is trying to use insults and offence to get there.
While Lambert may not like the comments Covington is making, calling Woodley every name under the sun, including a dull fighter and someone who likes to play the victim, Lambert will make no attempt to get him to cut it out. He understands the psychology of the sport and is tough enough to see it through.
Lambert Understands Covington’s Motivations
Lambert stated that, although he did not like what was being said about Woodley, he understands that Covington is looking to get a shot at the title, and that was why he was there. Lambert added that if Covington though trash talking would help him get there, Lambert had no right to tell him any different. He said that he trained Covington, but was not his father, and did not feel that he could step in at any point and tell the fighter what to do or what not to do.
Controversial Commentary by Covington Causing a Stir
Covington, at 29-years old, got severely criticised thanks to his racist rant at UFC Sao Paulo. After he beat Demian Maia, the Californian called the crowd filthy animals, and a number of American Top Team fighters from Brazil stood up, calling for this kind of bigotry to be removed from the sport.
When asked whether or not he approved of this kind of behaviour, Lambert simply said that he felt that there were other ways to sell fights. He added that if he kicked out every fighter who was acting like a jerk, he would have very quickly find that he had no one at his gym.
As far as Covington and Woodley are concerned, Lambert said that they would definitely be given the opportunity to settle their differences, with the MMA being one of the few sports where these kind of consequences were not simply available, they were lauded, as well. Lambert said he had no doubt that Woodley didn’t like what Covington was saying, but that the former would be able to settle the matter as he saw fit eventually. Lambert added that Woodley was definitely in the right line of work to do something about inflammatory comments.