ATT owner: Usman-Covington stoppage was early, but didn't affect outcome

American Top Team owner Dan Lambert thinks the Kamaru Usman-Colby Covington stoppage was a bit early, but ultimately didn't affect the outcome of the fight.

"(Covington) wasn’t going to win the fifth round after getting dropped,” Lambert told MMA Fighting's Damon Martin. "Was it the greatest stoppage? Not really. It’s not like he was taking a bunch of damage. But he wasn’t going to get the decision after it with the remaining 50 seconds unless something crazy happened."

Usman, the UFC welterweight champion, finished ATT's Covington in the fifth round at UFC 245 on Saturday in Las Vegas.

It had been a competitive affair through four rounds, as one judge had Usman up 3-1, one had Covington up 3-1, and the third had it 2-2 heading into the final round.

But Usman dropped Covington twice in the fifth round (which led to the referee stoppage) and would've been clearly ahead even if the fight hadn't been stopped.

"I know (Covington) was upset about it," Lambert said. "No one wants to get the opportunity taken away from them."

The loss snapped Covington's seven-fight winning streak. The former interim champ hadn't suffered defeat since August 2015.