Colby Covington says he deserves trilogy bout with "cheater" Kamaru Usman if Max Holloway fights Alexander Volkanovksi for the third time

Colby Covington believes he is deserving of a trilogy bout with Kamaru Usman despite going 0-2 against 'The Nigerian Nightmare' to date.

At UFC 268, Colby Covington came up short against Kamaru Usman for the second time, losing via unanimous decision. The fight was relatively close, with 'Chaos' becoming increasingly competitive as the bout went on.

In a recent interview with MMA Fighting's Mike Heck, Colby Covington pointed out that if the UFC allowed Max Holloway a trilogy bout against UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski despite 'Blessed' being on the losing end of the pair's first two fights, then he should receive the same treatment.

"The guy's a cheater man. He's a coward. Hopefully I get to fight him for a trilogy. I really, truly, deserve that, I deserve a trilogy. If you're gonna give Max Holloway a trilogy when he lost two fights, you can't base it on losing two fights. Both fights were close, Mike. The first fight I won multiple rounds, it was very close. It was obviously an early stoppage. I'm a warrior, man, I go out on my shield. You can't just knock me down and that's the fight. No. You gotta put me unconscious which no man alive can do."

You can check out MMA Fighting's full interview with Colby Covington below:

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Why might the UFC give Max Holloway a trilogy fight and not Colby Covington?

Whilst both of Colby Covington's fights with Kamaru Usman were very competitive and close, he decisively lost both main event contests.

While most agree that Max Holloway lost his first fight with Alexander Volkanovski, the rematch is the subject of much debate. Many believe 'Blessed' did enough to regain the belt on the scorecards.

Holloway has also been very active since the second loss to Volkanovksi, having defeated two top-five opponents in Calvin Kattar and Yair Rodriguez.

If Colby Covington is able to put together some wins over elite-level opposition such as Jorge Masvidal, Vicente Luque or Gilbert Burns, he may well re-enter the trilogy discussion.