What happened between Colby Covington and Fabricio Werdum?

Fabricio Werdum [left], Colby Covington [right]

Colby Covington and Fabricio Werdum had an infamous dust up in Sydney, Australia in 2017.

'Chaos' was in the final fight of his UFC contract when he faced Demian Maia at UFC Fight Night 119 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. After beating the submission artist via unanimous decision, Covington ranted at the Brazilian fans and called them "filthy animals."

Covington's remarks did not sit well with former UFC heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum. When the two crossed paths outside the UFC fighter hotel in Sydney on Nov. 16, 2017, 'Vai Cavalo' confronted Covington.

While both fighters seemed to be engaged in a verbal back-and-forth, it was the Brazilian who kept coming forward. Werdum then pulled a boomerang out and threw it at Covington, hitting the welterweight in the face.

Watch Werdum and Covington's altercation below:

@FabricioWerdum attacks @ColbyCovMMA with a boomerang outside the hotel for UFC Sydney! 😵 https://t.co/MCadJmCaXu

The incident became a trending topic in the sport at the time. A few days later, Covington revealed what happened.

According to 'Chaos', he didn't know why Werdum was going after him as it had been weeks since he made his infamous post-fight speech in Brazil. Covington also stressed that the former heavyweight champion's accusations were invalid as he has the right to exercise "free speech."

In an interview with MMA Fighting in 2017, he said:

“All of a sudden I get hit in the face from the side. I’m like, ‘Whoa, what’s going on?’ I’m a little concussed, like a little bit messed up in the head. Like, whoa, what just happened? All this heat-of-the-moment type stuff. I look up and it’s Fabricio Werdum and he’s still coming at me with his coach Rafael Cordeiro and they’re acting like they’re gonna jump me... I knew nothing about Werdum. His claims are completely lies. I said nothing to him. I didn’t even see him before he hit me in the face. He’s out here saying, ‘Colby was calling me a filthy animal.’ No, I said those comments three weeks ago. Those comments are old. You can’t come up and attack someone because of free speech. It’s not OK to condone violence because of free speech.”

Watch Colby Covington talk about the incident below:

Fabricio Werdum still has the boomerang he threw at Colby Covington

UFC president Dana White reckoned that while he understood how the Brazilians felt about Colby Covington's comments, Fabricio Werdum should've never done that. As a reprimand, an Australian court fined 'Vai Cavalo' $600 for assaulting the American with a boomerang.

Fabricio Werdum fined $600 for throwing boomerang at Colby Covington in Australia mmafighting.com/2017/12/14/167… https://t.co/10vV0TXQdl

Four months after the infamous scuffle, Werdum revealed that he still has the said boomerang at home. The former heavyweight king said he has a room for all of his prized possessions and he safekeeps the boomerang along with them.

In an interview with MMA Junkie in 2018, he said:

“I have the boomerang in my home. I bought a new house in Palos Verdes [California]. I have five rooms, but I have just one room for my stuff – my pictures, my belt. … Gloves, decorations, a lot of different things I have in my room. And I put the boomerang there. I have the real boomerang.”