UFC's Fabricio Werdum hits Colby Covington with boomerang
A heated exchange took place on Wednesday in Australia between two UFC fighters Fabricio Werdum and Colby Covington, prior to Saturday's UFC Fight Night in Sydney, where Werdum is set to headline the card against rising heavyweight Marcin Tybura.
Parts of the melee were captured on video and Werdum could be seen throwing what appeared to be a boomerang at Covington's face.
Former UFC Heavyweight champ Werdum told MMA Junkie that the ordeal was sparked when Covington called him a "Brazilian animal" during a run-in with Covington in the lobby of the hotel in which both fighters were staying. Before that, Werdum says, he did not even recognize Covington's presence. Werdum stated that he hit Covington's phone out of his hands and Covington retaliated by kicking him.
At last month's UFC event, which was held in Sao Paulo, Covington defeated Brazilian favourite Demian Maia by majority decision in a welterweight matchup and directed a controversial post-fight speech towards the Brazilian fans after the fight, calling them "filthy animals." Covington and his team later required security to leave the stadium.
I no punch him," Werdum told MMA Junkie. "I no touch him. I have a video. This is [expletive]. This guys a liar. I wanted to punch him, because he kicked me. But I just dropped his phone, because he called me a Brazilian animal. I dont know why he said that. Its too much..."
Part of the altercation was recorded by Covington himself, which he posted to social media. In the clip, Covington could be heard making a series of homophobic and racial slurs.
The UFC was informed of the event and released a statement.
UFC was made aware of the altercation between Fabricio Werdum and Colby Covington at the organizations host hotel in Sydney, Australia, the MMA leader said. The organization will conduct a full investigation to determine if the Athlete Conduct Policy was violated before taking any further action on this matter.