Reports: Colby Covington Presses Charges Against Fabricio Werdum for Alleged Assault

Colby Covington intends to press charges against Fabricio Werdum for an alleged assault that occurred near the UFC fighter hotel in Sydney, according to multiple outlets.

Initial video footage showed an ugly verbal confrontation between the two UFC fighters in which Covington uses a homophobic slur while directing an expletive laden tirade at Werdum. Covington, who was filming the incident, turns the camera toward himself and says, “F—ck Brazil. They’re a bunch of filthy animals.”

Later, UFC fighter Dan Hooker posted a short video clip of Werdum throwing what looks to be a boomerang at Covington.

Covington is alleging that Werdum punched him without provocation while he was looking at his phone in the lobby of the UFC host hotel before security intervened. Covington has reportedly contacted authorities in Australia to pursue charges against the former heavyweight champion.

“He f---ed up,” Covington told MMAFighting.com. “There’s video and I speak the truth. He will be exposed soon, probably end up in Australia prison.”

Meanwhile, Werdum has denied hitting Covington.

“I no punch him. I no touch him. I have a video. This is bulls--t,” Werdum told MMAjunkie.com. “This guy’s 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 don’t know why he said that. It’s too much. …This guy’s a crazy guy.”

Without naming either man, the New South Wales Police Force subsequently posted a the following statement on Facebook:



Werdum was also recently involved in an altercation with UFC interim lightweight champion Tony Ferguson at a media luncheon. During that brief incident, Werdum called Ferguson an anti-gay term in Spanish repeatedly. Covington began his anti-Brazil commentary prior to and after his victory over Demian Maia at UFC Fight Night in Sao Paulo, when he called Brazilians “filthy animals.”

Werdum is slated to face Marcin Tybura in the UFC Fight Night 121 headliner in Sydney on Saturday night. The UFC has issued a statement that it is investigating the Covington-Werdum situation, but it is currently unclear if that will affect Werdum’s status.