If there is a soap opera narrative that has dominated Saturday's must-see welterweight bout headlining UFC Fight Night in Newark, New Jersey, former champion Robbie Lawler insists it's one sided. 

Lawler (28-13, 1 NC) will look to snap a two-fight losing skid when he faces former interim champion Colby Covington (14-1) inside the Prudential Center (ESPN, 3 p.m. ET). And from the standpoint of how the former teammates at American Top Team in south Florida became that way has been a big talking point heading into the fight. 

Covington, 31, maintains that Lawler's exit from the gym has been anything but harmonious. The self-proclaimed ATT captain has publicly called Lawler a "diva" and claimed he "betrayed" the gym by leaving for nearby Hard Knocks 365 in Fort Lauderdale. 

Can't get enough UFC? Subscribe to our podcast State of Combat with Brian Campbell where we break down everything you need to know in the Octagon, including a complete preview of Lawler-Covington starting at the 1:04:00 mark below.

The soft-spoken Lawler has heard Covington's claim that the reason for his exit was because ATT owner Dan Lambert hung up a picture on the gym wall of former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley celebrating after knocking Lawler out for the title in 2016. And, for the record, he denies that to be the truth. 

"That's funny," Lawler told CBS Sports' "State of Combat" podcast in July. "I'm just being me and I'm not too worried about what anybody thinks.

"I don't [react to that]. I just let him show up and tell whatever version of the story he wants to and I get ready to fight."

The 37-year-old Lawler maintained there are no hard feelings between him and ATT and that "I've just moved on to a new direction." The polarizing Covington, who has quickly made a name for himself as UFC's resident troll and instigator, disagreed. 

"He is just up in his feelings because that is all truths," Covington told CBS Sports on Tuesday. "I would never say a lie. I promise you here today that none of that is lies. He left because of a picture. He saw a picture of Tyron Woodley hanging in the gym and he got all up in his feelings. He's a sensitive little guy and he went back and left the gym. 

"[Lawler] turned his back on everyone who had helped lift him up -- all the coaches, all the training partners and Dan Lambert, who did everything for him and gave him everything he wanted. He has had it better than anybody who has ever been in American Top Team and I've got a job to do this weekend, which is to leave Robbie Lawler in a pool of his own blood."

Covington enters Saturday on a six-fight win streak, including convincing decision victories over top contenders Demian Maia and Rafael dos Anjos. He was stripped of his interim belt, however, in unceremonious fashion when he was offered a shot at then-champion Woodley and wasn't physically ready. 

"That belt is not getting taken away. You are going to have to beat me to earn that title," said Covington, who doesn't appear in person or on social media without the belt. "You can call me what you want. You can call me the interim champ, you can call me America's champ or you can call me the people's champ -- or Donald Trump's favorite fighter -- but you can not call me former anything until I'm beaten inside that Octagon."

Part of Covington's seemingly pro wrestling-inspired social media campaign to become UFC's most hated fighter was aligning himself so purposefully with the Trump family. Not only has Covington, who regularly dons a "Make America Great Again" hat, brought his title to the White House to meet the President, but both of Trump's sons, Donald Jr. and Eric, have confirmed they will be in attendance in Newark to cheer Covington on. 

Lawler has routinely taken the high road when asked about Covington ahead of the fight and has sworn that nothing his opponent has done up to this point has made this fight personal. 

"I'm not too worried about what he's saying or what he's up to," Lawler said. "I just need to worry about myself and train and make sure I am doing all the right things and get ready to this fight. I don't have any ill will. It's just the way I fight. I'm ferocious when I'm out there and try to take people's heads off and get knockouts. That's just how I fight."

Covington said he expects a completely renewed Lawler who "looks better than he has ever looked" and even went as far as commenting on his ripped physique. Despite his losing skid, Lawler looked good in a controversial loss to Ben Askren in March -- which Covington referred to as "a first-round knockout win" -- and his opponent isn't taking him lightly despite their beef. 

"I trained with him in his early 30s and he wasn't that ripped and that big," Covington said. "I expect the best Robbie Lawler on Saturday and that's just going to prove my greatness that I'm the best welterweight of all-time when I leave him carted away on a stretcher from that Octagon."

As far as the sparring history between the two, Covington claimed that Lawler tabbed him to help prepare for a pair of title bouts against Johny Hendricks and that "it wasn't competitive. It looked like an amateur to a professional and I showed him why I'm at a different level." Covington then brought up Lawler's history of switching gyms throughout his career and referred to it as a pattern. 

"This isn't an American Top Team problem, it's a Robbie Lawler problem," Covington said. "I wanted him to be the best he could be and I gave him a lot [in sparring]. I trained with him everyday and look what he did to me. He turned his back on me and our gym. He hasn't helped me for my big title fights. I'm going to have to give him a slap in the face for being a piece of shit and a selfish bastard."

Lawler's prediction is that the fight will be a battle. But most experts have wondered what happens to Covington should his elite wrestling skills get routinely stuffed by Lawler. From Covington's perspective, should that happen, it's just another opportunity for him to showcase his evolution. 

Either way, Covington is excited to unleash his elite cardio and pace on Lawler, which is something he claimed to have developed in the bedroom "through countless hours with many different chicks." 

"They can be great wrestlers but they don't have the cardio I have. Guys have feared me. I can go for an hour straight and not get tired," Covington said. "[Lawler] is the biggest puncher in the division and has the best takedown defense in the division. But the thing is, he is coming up against the best wrestler that the UFC has ever seen.

"He can have great takedown defense but if he stops mine he is going to get knocked out. That's the good thing about Colby 'Chaos' Covington, it's that he is the most well-rounded fighter in mixed martial arts today. You're going to see the new 2.0 version of Colby Covington and that's a guy who can strike and wrestle and do so at a world-class level."  

Asked to provide a final message to Covington, the veteran Lawler simply said, "Nope." True to his brand, Lawler plans on doing his talking inside the Octagon. 

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