Colby Covington showed last night why he was one of the best talents in the UFC welterweight division, but also why he's one of the most hated fighters of all time.

Covington stepped into the Octagon in Newark on the back of a six-fight winning streak, but hadn't fought in well over a year since his convincing victory over Rafael dos Anjos.

That victory over the Brazilian made him the interim UFC welterweight champion, but injuries and surgery meant that he was stripped of the title due to his inactivity.

He did much to prove that he was indeed worthy of being the number two-ranked lightweight currently though with a decisive victory over former champion Robbie Lawler.

After walking out to the cage to Kurt Angle's 'You Suck' music, Covington outfought and outsmarted Lawler from the get-go, and all three judges scored the contest in his favour, two of the 50-45, and one of them 50-44.

He just couldn't let his actions inside the Octagon do the talking for him though, as his post-fight comments proved controversial.

When asked by the interviewer how the fight played out to his expectations, Covington said Lawler should have 'learned from his good buddy Matt Hughes - you stay off the tracks when the train is coming through'.

That was a dig at UFC Hall of Famer Hughes' near-death experience in 2017 where his truck collided with a train, that left him with a serious head injury which he ended up recovering from.

Whilst Hughes seemingly isn't a perfect man himself, Covington's comments were uncalled for and the boo's rained down on him, especially after he thanked Donald Trump's family for coming to support him even before his comments on Hughes.

Hughes didn't take Covington's shocking barb too seriously though, taking to his Instagram account to say that fighters need thick skin in the world of MMA.

Even though Hughes has played it all down, there's still a lot of fans and journalists who aren't happy with Covington, who just couldn't walk away from Newark with a victory and no controversy.