Colby Covington Confirms Departure From American Top Team
Colby Covington is no longer a member of American Top Team (ATT).
It recently came to light that Covington was no longer mentioned on the ATT website as a current fighter leading to plenty of speculation as to whether he had quit the gym or even been told to leave.
“Chaos” would confirm his departure on Wednesday in an interview with theScore.
“I’m not a member of the American Top Team gym in Coconut Creek (Florida),” Covington said. “”I’m a member of Colby Covington Incorporated, I am a member of Colby Covington business, Colby Covington team. Everything, this is my team now. You can direct your complaints at me.”
Covington added that it was a business decision and that he would still be training with the same partners and coaches more or less.
“We’re still in the process of putting together a team for Colby Covington Incorporated,” Covington explained. “I have some great coaches around me. I haven’t changed my training partners and coaches a lot. I still have a lot of the same training partners and coaches. But we’re just on our own time and doing our own thing. And not afflicted with ATT in any way, shape, or form.”
Interestingly, Gilbert Burns claimed Covington was training at MMA Masters for more than a month.
Covington’s Beef With Fellow ATT Members
However, it’s no secret that Covington had plenty of friction within the gym with other teammates such as Jorge Masvidal, Dustin Poirier and Joanna Jedrzejczyk. It reached points were ATT owner Dan Lambert had to intervene while where there was even a zero-tolerance policy on trash talking fellow teammates introduced.
Part of Covington’s decision was helping Lambert by easing his worries while also breaking free of the rules.
“All the people who are going to American Top Team and Dan Lambert and directing their complaints,” Covington said. “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?’
“… This is honestly the best thing that could ever happen. Because now there’s no rules for me. Before there was rules. I wanted to respect Dan Lambert’s rule, because he’s like a father figure to me, he’s a mentor, man I have so much love and admiration for the guy, but to put me on rules, like come on, bro. You can’t suppress my freedom of speech, my freedom of opinion. You can’t take that away. This is the Ultimate Fighting Championship, this isn’t the Ultimate Feelings championship.
“Just because Joanna, Dustin, Jorge wanna complain to him and cry to him like little babies, that’s not fair. I don’t want to put him in that situation continually, where they’re gonna keep coming to him, harping at him. I just want him to be happy and not have to deal with this high school drama anymore. … Dustin Poirier, Jorge Masvidal, you got complaints come to me, let’s settle it in the cage.”
What do you make of this new development?
