Covington Slams NSAC, ‘Corrupt’ Ref For UFC 245 Loss

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) interim Welterweight champion, Colby Covington, has been unusually quite since losing to Kamaru Usman in the main event of UFC 245 last December (see it here).

According to Jorge Masvidal — his former friend and training partner — Covington hasn’t really been seen at American Top Team (ATT), either, since the tough loss. But “Chaos” is finally stepping out of the shadows and giving his first interview since having his seven-fight win streak snapped and suffering a broken jaw during the Welterweight title fight.

Covington appeared on Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show to talk about his loss, which he says was aided by a “corrupt” ref and Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC).

“I just kind of wanted to sit back and see how people were going to talk about the fight. I wanted to see all of these so-called MMA journalists, how they were going to call it. Were they going to call it down the line, call it fair or if they were going to take their feelings out,” said Colby.

“I know I am the most hated man in UFC and in sports right now. But put your feelings to the side for a second, that’s what real journalism is. Break down the fight and actually analyze the fight. Let’s talk about the fake nut shot, let’s talk about the fake eye poke, the fake stoppage, the fake ref and let’s talk about the fake NSAC, the Nevada State Athletic Commission. Let’s talk about how they dropped the ball,” said Colby.

So where does the ref and NSAC play in all of this? According to Covington, the stoppage was premature. But what really grinds his gears is the fact the feels Usman’s corner found out about his injured jaw due to the audio (see it here) of his own corner talking about it being broadcast on television. And in the world of social media, it doesn’t take long for word to spread.

“How did they get my corner’s audio in the third round when Marty was ready to quit and give up? But all of a sudden he gets reinvigorated because he knows I have a broken jaw and he get that information from his corner. How was he allowed to, how is that possible?”

Maycee Barber feels your pain, Colby.

That said, the audio complaints should be aimed at UFC and ESPN, not NSAC. While it’s standard practice for UFC to have cameras and microphones right smack in the middle of the action (evidence here), Covington doesn’t appreciate it one bit and says it is in fact, a big no-no.

“I don’t know if it’s on UFC or NSAC, but someone needs to be held accountable. I don’t expect to get a fair fight. I know everybody hates me. But I am fighting not only two people in the Octagon, Marty Fakenewsmen, a corrupt and incompetent ref, and now I also have to fight the NSAC releasing my corner audio,” he added.

“I thought we were supposed to be 25 feet away in the Octagon and there’s not supposed to be any audio of your corner and of what is going on between rounds? But how is that being broadcast to the world when we are in a loud sold out arena? How does it get to the other corner that I have a broken jaw?”

The only way to remedy it, according to Covington, is to book an immediate rematch between he and Usman.

“It’s just not fair, they need to run it back. There is 10 more rounds of this. There is going to be a sequel and then a trilogy. Marty is the only one in this world that does not want this fight. The people want this fight, I am the people’s champion and I fight for the people,” he added.

“Marc ‘Not So’ Goodard (it’s Goddard) robbed the people of a fair fight, down the middle. This needs to be ran back, and if it’s not ran back, then it’s a very corrupt business and a fix.

“I beat his ass every round and he got saved by the ref,” he concluded.

Unfortunately for “Chaos,” an immediate rematch will not be in the cards, as Usman is in line to defend his title against Jorge Masvidal sometime in July.