'Pathetic': UFC fighter sparks outrage with 'F*** LeBron' shirt

Colby Covington has taken his beef with LeBron James to a new level, wearing a shirt with ‘F*** LeBron’ on the front in a social media video.

The UFC fighter recently took aim at the “woke” NBA superstar, labelling him a “spineless coward”.

'DON'T GIVE A F***': Aussie UFC fighter living out of his van

‘EXTREMELY TROUBLING’: Photo exposes boxing judge 'disgrace'

And Covington has now taken another shot at LeBron, sarcastically congratulating the LA Lakers champion for the NBA’s record low audience numbers throughout the finals.

“Congratulations are in order for my good buddy, LeBron James,” Covington said while standing on a beach with two bikini-clad models.

“Congrats, LeBron, on setting the record for the least-watched NBA finals in history.

“You wish you could blame it on the pandemic but everybody's just sick of your woke bulls***.

“And while the NBA's ratings are going down, the UFC's are going up. Just like our bank accounts.”

Game 3 of the NBA Finals between the Lakers and Miami Heat averaged a 3.1 rating and 5.94 million viewers.

Those numbers made Game 3 the least-watched and lowest-rated NBA Finals game on record, according to Sports Media Watch.

That continued a poor trend for the NBA Finals, with the previous record for the least-viewed Finals broadcast coming during Game 2 and Game 1 before that.

Covington launched an unprovoked attack on LeBron after defeating Tyron Woodley via a fifth round TKO at UFC's Vegas 11 Fight Night last month.

Speaking after his win, the controversial fighter - an outspoken Donald Trump supporter - thanked the country's first responders, before hitting out at LeBron and other so-called “woke” athletes.

“[First responders] keep this world safe, not these woke athletes, man,” he said.

“I’m sick of these woke athletes, these spineless cowards like LeBron James.”

LeBron dismissed the criticism at the time.

“Anybody can talk from outside but if they got into the ring or got into the arena, probably 10 times out of 10, they’d s*** their pants,” he said.

And fans are fuming too, taking aim at Covington on social media.

Colby Covington’s support for Donald Trump

LeBron and countless other professional athletes across the sports world have been leading a push for social and racial justice in recent months, often kneeling during the national anthem in protest or making other demonstrations.

NBA players even staged a walkout - something that was soon followed by teams in other leagues across the country - in the wake of the Jacob Blake shooting in Wisconsin.

Covington also caused controversy when he took a call from Trump in the middle of his post-fight interviews.

“Ladies and gentlemen, the silent majority is ready to make some noise,” Covington said while wearing an American flag draped around his shoulders.

“If you thought that was a beating, wait until November 3 when Donald Trump gets his hands on sleepy Joe.

“That’s going to be a landslide.”

Covington, after sitting down later for an ESPN interview while wearing his signed “Keep America Great” hat, actually took a call from Trump on speaker phone.

Trump congratulated Covington for his win, though it wasn’t clear if Trump actually watched the bout - he was speaking at a campaign stop in North Carolina.

Covington credited Trump several times for his win, too, saying that after meeting him at a recent rally that there was no way he could lose.

“I’m proud of you man. I’m a big fan and I’m proud of you,” Trump told Covington.

“You’re tough, you have the right spirits. So now go win the next one, and keep it for a long time. Just keep that championship for a long time.

“You are something ... I appreciated the shout out tonight, too. I’m your fan, you’re my fan. Two of a kind, two of a kind.”

with Yahoo Sports US

Click here to sign up to our newsletter for all the latest and breaking stories from Australia and around the world.