PHOTO | Colby Covington suffered nasty cut three weeks before UFC Newark

Colby Covington earned himself a welterweight title shot after dusting Robbie Lawler in the main event of UFC Newark, but he almost didn’t make it to the fight on account of a bad cut.

ESPN’s Ariel Helwani reports that Covington suffered a nasty cut in training three weeks before his fight against Robbie Lawler. The cut was due to an accidental headbutt. According to Helwani, a doctor told Covington he should seriously consider pulling out of the fight because of how close the cut was to his eye.

Warning: the images can be considered graphic.

Check out a picture of the cut below.

This photo is Colby Covington three weeks ago. An accidental headbutt in training opened a cut that required 16 stitches. He told me a doctor told him he should consider pulling out because of its proximity to his eye. pic.twitter.com/tqCrN2K0fE

— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) August 4, 2019

Covington told Helwani that he used makeup to cover up the cut so the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board wouldn’t see it. According to Covington, the UFC had no knowledge of the cut.

Here’s what the cut looked like with makeup covering it.

Covington told me he used a little makeup to hide it from the commission in fear they wouldn’t clear him to fight and will have it looked at again in the coming days. The UFC was unaware of the cut, he said. This photo was three days ago. pic.twitter.com/1soPSP45Wl

— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) August 4, 2019

And finally, a photo of the cut after it re-opened.

Here’s another photo after the cut opened up: pic.twitter.com/vOqYrfPrzo

— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) August 4, 2019

Despite the cut, Covington managed to make it to the fight and he put on what was arguably his greatest performance inside the Octagon.

Covington likely earned himself a title shot against UFC welterweight Kamaru Usman with the one-sided victory over his former training partner in Lawler. Covington and Usman are already starting their trash talk and are looking forward to fighting in the Octagon at UFC 244 this November at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York.

But first, Covington will need to his this cut fully healed up. Now that he’s disclosed that he had it, it’s likely that future athletic commissions will take a better look at the spot of the cut before clearing him for his next fight.

Do you gain some more respect for Colby Covington knowing how bad of a cut he had before the Robbie Lawler fight?