MMA Fighter Colby Covington called out the judges of last night’s welterweight championship at UFC 296 in Las Vegas for their bias in awarding Leon Edwards with the win.
Covington laid nearly twice the “total strikes” (109 to 65) on his opponent but had slightly fewer “significant strikes” (57 to 44). The judges, in a unanimous decision, crowned Edwards the victor “because I support Trump,” argues Covington.
According to Fightmetric, “significant strikes refer to all strikes at distance and power strikes in the clinch and on the ground. It does not include small, short strikes in the clinch and on the ground. Those will be included in the Total Strikes category.” While these strikes are given more weight in scoring, Covington destroyed Edwards in total strikes and had the same number of “takedowns.”
This may sound like sore loser talk, but it’s all too common today that politics plays a role in people’s decisions. Take, for example, DEI standards and diversity hiring practices, where woke companies pass over a qualified individual for a less qualified individual judged solely on the merits of their identity.
I’m not suggesting that Edwards won this fight on the basis that he’s a black man fighting a white Trump supporter, but that could make sense if we knew the panel of judges was made up of woke liberals who believe in equity over equality.
We also see the political persecution of President Trump, his allies, and conservatives in the so-called justice system and in everyday life via cancel culture.
It would not sound as believable if a fighter said he lost because he likes Biden and the judges like Trump because most conservatives don’t discriminate against others for their political beliefs. But leftists typically do.
It is unclear what political leanings the judges hold.
“I thought the third, fourth, and fifth round were mine… The fifth was mine, easily,” said Covington. However, the judges reportedly awarded Rounds 1-4 to Edwards via 10-9 scores in a “rare” unanimous decision.
MMA Fighting reports,
Covington reacted with shock when Edwards was declared the winner of Saturday’s pay-per-view via unanimous 49-46 scores. Despite his performance, he chalked up his third title loss to bias from officials.
“I thought the third, fourth and fifth round were mine,” Covington said at the post-fight press conference for UFC 296. “The fifth was mine, easily. … He didn’t put any damage on me. He got a couple of low kicks, but then I started checking them at the end, so I thought I had the win and did enough, but the judges never favor me. They hate me because I support Trump, and everybody hates Trump in this building, so it is what it is. Life goes on.”
According to overall UFC stats from the five-round fight, Covington beat Edwards on total strikes, 109 to 65. The two were even on takedowns, each getting two on the board. Edwards beat Covington in significant strikes, however, landing 57 to Covington’s 44.
The fight’s judges, veteran officials Derek Cleary, Sal D’Amato and Chris Lee, issued a rare unanimous scorecard, awarding Edwards Rounds 1-4 via 10-9 scores and giving Covington the final frame via the same tally.
What we do know is that Covington is an outspoken conservative who is not afraid to call out the radical anti-America left. Recently, he responded to LeBron James’ sitting during the national anthem, saying “f*ck you” and calling him a “spineless coward” and a “b*tch.” He speaks for millions of Americans in saying this.
Additionally, Covington confirmed before the fight that President Trump would put the championship belt on him after he won the fight, calling Trump his “biggest role model,” adding, “He’s gonna take back the White House, and we’re gonna Make America and the UFC Great Again.” He also made plans with the President to walk him out onto the octagon before the fight, but the UFC did not allow this.
If the judges are, in fact, Trump haters, as Covington claims, would they not rig the fight to stop Trump from making an appearance in the octagon or to embarrass an outspoken Trump supporter?
The Democrats rig elections, so who’s to say they wouldn’t rig a smaller competition? It wouldn’t be the first time referees threw a game.
Of course, this is all pure speculation, and Covington could just be using fighting words to attack the judges. Still, it would make sense if the judges are Democrats.
At the end of the day, Covington rated his performance in the octagon a “five out of ten,” adding, “I’m a lot better than that, and I’m still 35 years young, and my best is yet to come.”
