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Colby Covington believes he wasn't credited with a takedown against Kamaru Usman at UFC 268 because he supports former United States President Donald Trump.
Covington and Usman went to war at Madison Square Garden in New York three weeks ago. 'The Nigerian Nightmare', who has never suffered a takedown in his UFC career so far, was grabbed and brought to the ground by 'Chaos'. However, it didn't count as a takedown, according to UFC statisticians.
They claimed that Colby Covington didn't establish control over Kamaru Usman. Regardless, several pundits and fans, including the legendary Daniel Cormier, felt Covington had taken down Usman.
Speaking to MMA Fighting's Mike Heck, the 33-year-old American star stressed that everyone in the UFC is conspiring against him due to his political leanings:
"Just standard on the course, Mike. I have never gotten a fair shake my whole entire career. I mean I got the statisticians you know? I got the judges, I got the refs, I got everybody conspiring against me. No one wants me to win just because I wore a red hat that says 'Make America Great Again'. What's so bad about those couple of little words? Just because I support a President and love my country, what is so wrong with that? I love our troops. I love our first responders, our law enforcement and I'm the bad guy. Everybody wants to pay me in the back and no one wants to give me credit for what I've earned and what I do. So I think it is hilarious," said Covington.
Watch Colby Covington in conversation with Mike Heck below:
Colby Covington is a former interim UFC welterweight champion
Colby Covington has now lost two UFC welterweight title fights, both to Kamaru Usman. He is 16-3 in his MMA career right now. However, the No.1-ranked contender Covington has tasted gold in the UFC, albeit it an interim championship.
He defeated former lightweight champ Rafael dos Anjos via unanimous decision at UFC 225 in June 2018 to claim the interim welterweight belt.
He was later stripped of the title due to a nasal surgery that forced him to miss the unification bout.
