Colby Covington, following his unanimous decision loss to Leon Edwards at UFC 296, has altered his initial claim that biased judges, influenced by his support for Donald Trump, were responsible for his defeat. Now, Covington asserts that he broke his foot within the first 30 seconds of the fight, a factor he claims affected his performance throughout the match. Despite this new narrative, there is no indication that Covington is abandoning the idea that the judges’ decision was influenced by his political alignment with Trump.
In an interview with pro-Trump podcaster Patrick Bet-David, Covington revealed that he broke his foot when a left high kick was blocked by Edwards in the early moments of the bout. Despite continuing to fight for the entire 25-minute duration, Covington appeared to limp and show signs of discomfort in the injured foot towards the end of the first round. Bet-David mentioned that Covington was in the studio wearing a boot on the injured foot.
Notably, Covington did not mention the foot injury during the post-fight news conference, choosing instead to emphasize the alleged bias of the judges due to his Trump support. The judges for the main event at T-Mobile Arena were Derek Cleary, Sal D’Amato, and Chris Lee, with Herb Dean officiating the bout.
Covington’s recent loss to Edwards followed a 20-month hiatus from the sport. His previous fight was a decision win over Jorge Masvidal, and the judges for that bout included Cleary and D’Amato. Covington’s vocal support for Trump has been a well-known aspect of his persona, and he has been a staunch advocate for the former president.
Despite statistical advantages, with Covington outstriking Edwards 109-65 and having more control time, Edwards secured the win with two takedowns, two submission attempts, and successful defense against eight of Covington’s ten takedown attempts. The evolving narrative around Covington’s loss underscores the complex nature of post-fight analysis, incorporating both performance factors and perceptions of bias in judging.
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