In an interview on The Rush podcast, Colby Covington made a strong claim, which is unlikely to go down well with the famously acerbic UFC fans. “I do think I’m one of the greatest of all time,” he said. Saying this, though, he couldn’t help but reflect on his hard-fought bouts against Kamaru Usman, first at UFC 245 and the next at UFC 268. But seeing as he lost both those fights, how does he think he’s the greatest? Well, that’s because he believes, yet again, that he has beaten Usman, someone Dana White lauds as the welterweight division’s greatest.

On the podcast, the former interim champion was asked who he would want to fight next. Although he stated his trust in the UFC to decide his next match, Covington said, “Maybe this kid [Belal] Muhammad. He’s up there in the rankings above me, so if I beat that guy, it gets me right back to the title fight.” That’s when he said he’d be ready to fight “anyone, anywhere, anytime. I’ve fought the best fighters this sport’s ever produced. I do think I’m one of the greatest of all time. Went toe-to-toe you know, with the No.1 pound-for-pound guy, who Dana thinks is the best welterweight of all time in Usman.”

“I think I beat him,” Colby Covington added. It’s a claim that Conor McGregor seemingly agreed with once. In their first bout in 2019, ‘Chaos’ lost in the fifth round via a vicious knockout from ‘The Nigerian Nightmare,’ a finish that was viciously contested by Covington later. Their second encounter, however, went the full five rounds and saw Usman win a unanimous decision on the judges’ scorecard. However, Covington thinks that his first fight against Usman would have resulted in a KO victory if it hadn’t been for a biased referee.

In the second round of their first fight five years ago, a body kick from Covington landed squarely on the champion’s torso. Kamaru Usman reached for his groin, a common reaction to a low blow. “I kicked him in the liver in the second round, and he was like, ‘Oh, nutshot.’ And they clearly show on the replay. It was a liver shot,” he said. Covington believed this was a strategic move by the champion to stall for time and that the referee’s decision to pause the fight cost him a potential knockout victory and a shot at history.

“He was going down, he was going to be TKOed. I was going to win the fight, and then they stopped it. It wasn’t a fair fight. I was fighting two on one that night,” he added, feeling like he was fighting not just Usman but also the referee at UFC 245. And without the latter’s intervention in the second round, the American was sure he would have knocked out Usman in that round. This winning streak continued in their rematch as well. Before that rematch, though, the two traded blows not in the octagon but online.

Following their 2019 fight, Covington rebounded from that loss to defeat Tyron Woodley in September 2020. Following that, he campaigned for a rematch against Kamaru Usman. Referring to this, the former welterweight champion told ESPN in 2021, “Show me some activity. Give me a reason. It’s time for him to show the people that he deserves another chance to fight for the title. You can’t sit back and say, ‘Oh, I beat Tyron Woodley. That’s it. I deserve a shot at the title.’ No. That doesn’t give you a shot at the title.” Covington didn’t just sit back and listen. He retorted.

“Spoken like a true coward who doesn’t want to face the rightful #1 contender. The rankings have chosen, and so have the people Marty. Just say the truth: you know you can’t win, and you’d rather fight bums like Street Judas for easy paychecks,” the interim champion tweeted. Seven months later, he got his wish. But also a tough pill to swallow, courtesy of another defeat to Usman.

However, just like the first fight, Colby Covington had something to say about the bout. And Conor McGregor had a bold claim of his own, too.

‘Chaos’ thinks he won three out of five rounds in rematch, McGregor agrees

Back in 2021, Conor McGregor answered a fan’s question about the Irishman’s thoughts on potentially fighting Usman. The former double champion responded, “Thought Colby lumped him up nice last fight. Finished stronger. Without that 2nd round knockdown, it’s Colby’s fight imo. If even still. I see many holes. As well as a suspect dome. I fancy it greatly for the treble.” Covington had similar thoughts as well.

After laying the blame for his first loss against Usman on the biased refereeing, Colby Covington laid the blame for his unanimous decision loss to Usman at their UFC 268 rematch squarely on the feet of the judges. The former NCAA D1 wrestler felt he had clearly won the last three rounds and should have walked out of the cage as the new welterweight champion in their thrilling rematch.

“The second fight we fought in Madison Square Garden, I thought I beat him three rounds to two. He had one good round where he dropped me in the second, but I came back and rallied and won the third, fourth, and fifth rounds. Dropped him in the fourth and almost knocked him out, but he got saved by the bell… I thought I’d beat him in there,” Covington said.

And there does seem to be some truth in his claims. All three judges gave the Nigerian the first two rounds because of his dominant showing, which saw him knockdown ‘Chaos’ in the second round. The third round, however, went much better for Covington, with one judge scoring it in favor of the American and two giving it to Usman. The penultimate round, contrary to Covington’s claims, was unanimously scored for the champion, but the final round had the judges split again and saw two judges giving it to a resurgent’ Chaos.’

What are your thoughts on Colby Covington claiming he won both fights against Kamaru Usman?