Colby Covington‘s return to action after another lengthy layoff proved to be a much tougher challenge than his last one. The former interim welterweight champion got absolutely battered by Joaquin Buckley, prompting the referee to call for a doctor stoppage. But when Covington opened up on his performance at UFC Tampa, he appeared to claim that the fight was closer than most fans and pundits believe.

‘Chaos’ understands that his performance wasn’t up to his standards, for which he placed the blame on his inactivity. However, he claimed to have stepped up against Buckley, who’s now on a 6-fight winning tear, because he wanted to do that for Dana White. “I wasn’t at my best tonight [because] I came off the couch, but it was for the company. I did this for the company that I love so much that changed my life,” Covington stated on his YouTube channel.

Furthermore, the former interim champion claimed that the duo was one all heading into the third round. Not only that, but Covington also claimed that he started to see ‘New Mansa’ slowing down and breathing heavily and that the fight should have continued, which is the only thing White seems to agree with. “I was just getting warmed up in that fight, I think it was tied up 1-1 and I was starting to wear on him,” Colby Covington added. “I see him breathing out of his mouth, I was starting to catch him with more shots, so it’s unfortunate that they stopped it.”

Meanwhile, the fans, who witnessed the action in Tampa, couldn’t disagree more with Covington’s unusual claims. As such, they sounded off on the controversial fighter, claiming that he’s “delusional.”

Is Colby Covington trying to maintain relevancy? Fans react to his latest performance

The first thing that came to the fans’ minds when they came across Colby Covington’s statements was to call him out for his “Total B*llsh*t.” They vehemently disagreed with ‘Chaos’, believing that he was just trying to save face and maintain his credibility in the welterweight roster. “Doing whatever to stay relevant,” a fan added on Instagram. However, having seen his recent run of form, fans don’t believe Covington has it anymore to deliver inside the Octagon. Even Dana White called him out after his previous outing at UFC 296, claiming that the Clovis native looked “old.”

With that in mind, one fan commented, “Colby needs to retire,” as they don’t want to see him fight again. On another note, Covington had previously made bizarre claims after his UFC 296 loss as well. Having heard all of that and now after his loss in Tampa, fans are convinced that Covington is the kind of person who believes in things that aren’t true. “Haha Colby is the real goat! The goat in being delusional that is,” one fan commented in that regard.

The fans also made their assessments of the fight between Colby Covington and Joaquin Buckley, concluding that ‘Chaos’ didn’t win any round at all. “Buddy was down two rounds. It was 0-2 for Colby,” one fan added. On the other hand, they also pleaded with the matchmakers for the former interim champion’s next match-up, as one fan urged, “Give him Tony,” believing that the only logical fight to make for Covington next is against Tony Ferguson, who’s also on a losing skid.

However, there were still some fans who pictured a potential big-time fight for Covington once again. “Will see Colby in 2 years for title shot watch mark my words.” Covington isn’t done fighting by a long shot, and despite his defeat, the 36-year-old is looking to come back stronger. Let us know what you think about his recent comments about the fight in the comments down below.