Covington rips ref for 'fake stoppage,' broken jaw confirmed
Warning: Story contains coarse language
Colby Covington came up short in his first undisputed title shot on Saturday night, but the controversial welterweight believes he was "robbed" by referee Marc Goddard during the bout against champion Kamaru Usman.
In a tweet after the fight, Covington took issue with what he perceived to be an early stoppage in the fifth round. He also criticized Goddard for calling an eye poke and a low blow against him earlier in the bout.
Normally people do their fucking in the bedroom, not the octagon @marcgoddard_uk! I go in there to kill or be killed. You robbed me of that. You robbed the people of a fair fight. You should be ashamed of yourself. Fake nut shot. Fake eye poke. Fake stoppage. Fake ref. #ufc245
— Colby Covington (@ColbyCovMMA) December 15, 2019
While the low blow appeared to be marginal, Covington clearly raked Usman's right eye with extended fingers, causing the 170-pound king to take several moments to compose himself.
In a razor-close main event at UFC 245, Covington was even on the scorecards before the TKO but took on more significant damage. Between the third and fourth rounds, he told his corner that he thought his jaw was broken.
After the fight, the UFC confirmed Covington "suffered a non-displaced midline mandible fracture," per Marc Raimondi of ESPN.
The lead-up to Usman's first title defense against Covington had been dominated by bad blood between the two men, and the challenger seemingly wasn't interested in watching his opponent celebrate the victory.
Colby Covington was not sticking around after Kamaru Usman got his hand raised 🏃♂️💨💨💨#UFC245 pic.twitter.com/hGF55dSU90
— UFC on BT Sport (@btsportufc) December 15, 2019
Covington also made a statement on Instagram, where he fired more shots at Goddard and said he intends to return with a vengeance.
"Just like America, my will and spirit can never be broken. Speed bumps can’t slow me down," Covington wrote. "You people ain't seen nothing yet."