UFC News: Colby Covington accuses Dana White’s welterweight GOAT Kamaru Usman of unfair victories

Colby Covington claimed, once again, that he had beaten Kamaru Usman. “Chaos” fought then-welterweight champion Kamaru Usman twice: first in their loss at UFC 245 in 2019 and a rematch at UFC 268 two years later. Covington lost his first fight in the fifth round via a vicious knockout of “The Nigerian Nightmare.”

Their second encounter, however, went over five full rounds and saw Usman win a unanimous decision on the judges’ scorecard. However, Covington believes his first fight against Usman would have resulted in a KO victory for him if not for a biased referee.

Colby Covington blames referee for Usman’s first loss

In an interview on ‘The Rush’ podcast, Colby Covington forcefully asserted, which probably won’t please famously acerbic UFC fans, that he was one of the greatest mixed martial artists of all time . The former interim champion reflected on his hard-fought fights with then-welterweight champion Kamaru Usman, who was praised by the UFC CEO. Dana White as the best in the division. Usman was seemingly unbeatable at the time of their meetings.

“I have fought the best fighters this sport has ever produced. I think I’m one of the greatest. I think I’m one of the greatest of all time. I sparred, you know, with the number one pound-for-pound guy, who Dana says is the best welterweight of all time in Usman,” » Covington said.

In the second round of their first fight five years ago, a kick from Covington landed directly on the champion’s chest. The champion then reached for his groin, a common reaction to a low blow. Covington believed it was a strategic move by the champion to buy time and that the referee’s decision to suspend the fight cost him a potential knockout victory and a shot at history .

“I think I beat him, you know. I kicked him in the liver in the second round and he was like, ‘Oh, it’s fucked.’ And they show clearly on the replay, as if it were a bullet to the liver. Like if he fell, he was going to be knocked out. I was going to win the fight, then they stopped it. It was not a fair fight. I was fighting two on one that night. he added.

Covington felt like he was in a “two-on-one” fight at UFC 245, with the legendary champion and the referee. And without the latter’s intervention in the second round, the American was sure that he would have eliminated Usman in this round. This winning streak continued in their rematch as well.

‘Chaos’ believes he won three out of five rounds in a rematch

After blaming his first loss to Usman on biased officiating, Colby Covington placed the blame for his unanimous decision loss to Usman in their 2021 UFC 268 rematch on the judges. The former NCAA D1 wrestler felt he clearly won the final three rounds and should have walked out of the cage as the new welterweight champion in their thrilling rematch.

“And then the second fight we fought at Madison Square Garden, you know, I thought I beat him three rounds to two. He had a good round where he dropped me in the second, but I came back and pulled myself together, won the third, fourth and fifth rounds. I dropped him in the fourth and almost knocked him out, but he was saved by the bell…I thought I would have beaten him in there,” » Covington said.

And there appears to be some truth to his claims. All three judges awarded the Nigerian the first two rounds due to his dominant performance, which saw him topple ‘Chaos’ in the second round. The third round, however, went much better for Covington, with one judge scoring it in favor of the American and two awarding it to Usman. The penultimate round, contrary to Covington’s claims, was unanimously scored for the champion, but the final round divided the judges again and saw two judges defer to resurgent “Chaos.”

What do you think about Colby Covington claiming to have won both of his fights against Kamaru Usman?