UFC star Colby Covington blamed his loss in a world title fight over the weekend on hatred of former President Donald Trump.
In their fight for the UFC welterweight title, Leon Edwards won a lopsided decision over Mr. Covington, winning four of the five rounds on all three judges’ scorecards.
UFC President Dana White said afterward that “Colby just looked slow and old tonight, in my opinion.”
But in the post-fight press conference, Mr. Covington had another explanation.
“The judges have never favored me. They hate me because I support Trump,” he said while wearing the iconic red Make America Great Again cap.
The former president, a friend of Mr. White and of Mr. Covington, was at cageside for the card at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The two men even shook hands and exchanged a word or two as Mr. Covington did his walkup around the side of the cage before going inside it for the fight.
According to Mr. Covington, Mr. Edwards, whom he regularly ridiculed in the pre-fight buildup like a pro-wrestling heel, “didn’t put any damage on me” except for a few leg kicks.
“I thought I had the win. I thought I did enough,” Mr. Covington said. “But y’know everyone hates Trump in this building so y’know it is what it is. Life goes on.”
For the last several years, Mr. Covington has been a vocal Trump supporter. After winning the UFC’s interim welterweight championship in 2018, he said in the post-fight interview that he would “do what a real American should do. I’m bringing this belt to the White House and I’m putting it on Donald Trump’s desk.”
He later was able to visit the White House and did exactly that.
• Victor Morton can be reached at vmorton@washingtontimes.com.
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