Colby Covington is making headlines for more than just his unanimous decision victory over Demian Maia in Saturday night’s UFC Fight Night 119 co-main event. During his post-fight interview, Covington told the Sao Paulo, Brazil crowd that Brazil was a “dump” and its citizens were “filthy animals.”
Since the statement, fighters have been taking to social media to share their opinions on Covington’s controversial statement. Now it would appear that American Top Team co-founder Ricardo Liborio has come forward with some opinions concerning the incident.
Colby Covington trains out of American Top Team, which was co-founded by Liborio. Taking to Instagram, Liborio revealed his thoughts on the fighter’s recent statements.
“I feel that I must make a statement in light of the comments made by Colby Convigton along with the amount of messages sent to me from Brazil, the United States, and from all over the world.
“I’m here to state that I am no longer with American Top Team. Also, I absolutely do not condone any behavior that instigates hate, prejudice, or bullying of any kind. It upsets me to see the sport taking this direction of blatant disrespect. It’s unsportsmanlike, but it also fosters and promotes a culture of cruelty towards others. Combat Sports should always represent the qualities of humility, empathy, and respect.
“I dedicated my life to the Martial arts, and to the formation and growth of this team. I can not discuss at this time the reasons for my departure from ATT. At some point, I will. For the time being, I want the members of ATT to know that they will always be in my heart.”
