Covington’s defeat at UFC 245 means more than a loss

Covington saw defeat at the hands of Usman this past weekend at UFC 245 spelling victory not only for Usman, but for those opposed to Covington’s beyond controversial presence in the scene (Courtesy MagicM MMA)

UFC 245 had just occurred this past Saturday on December 14th at the T-Mobile Arena in Nevada seeing Kamaru Usman vs. Colby Covington fight each other in a slick and pulse-pounding 24 minute bout. 

Usman proved victorious after just 50 seconds left in round five leaving Convington with a supposedly broken jaw on the floor and the referee stepping in to clear out the octagon. What was most surprising was that Covington had been slated to win the interaction based off score card results in between rounds with 48-46 Usman, 48-46 Covington, and 47-47 going into the final round. 

A resulting flurry of punches was the deciding factor in detailing the TKO with many reveling in the extraneous factors of the fight relating to Covington’s political alignment. Covington is a proud Republican and has met with President Trump back in August of 2018.

Many cite the real issues with Covington’s political views as him being an inherent trash talker and a self-described “supervillain” of the UFC scene. Covington is noted to have called Brazil a “dump” and its people “filthy animals” in post fight interviews

The spectacle goes further beyond the UFC fight itself when someone like Covington enters the octagon as a war of ideals is on display. The audience can then inhabit and vicariously live through the frowned upon contender’s opponent in hopes of some resolution through righteousness being served.

Usman was the bringer of justice in the form of his fists against Covington’s face for those who perceive Covington as his Dr. Doom-esque persona. The UFC’s fanbase in the end will always be torn over a loss with some not accepting it as a reality.

With the Khabib Nurmagomedov vs Conor McGregor fight for UFC 229 last year in particular, some fans refused to accept McGregor’s defeat among all the ensuing controversy that followed with Khabib’s payout being withheld for attacking McGregor’s cornerman, Dillon Danis who reportedly was shouting slurs marked at Khabib. 

Ugly is an understatement for what happened with that event.

So for the external Covington drama, it really does become internalized for some fans who cannot see past his riled-up, agitated self. And, well, that’s just how some sports will end up being regardless of what conclusion is presented.

Some things can not be removed from each other and with so much metaphorical weight being carried on the competitor in question in a one on one sport like UFC, it’s easy to see why nothing is truly mutually exclusive.

Going beyond an individual’s derogatory remarks takes a lot of forgiveness on behalf of the public and being sorry just doesn’t fly a lot of the time when such inflammatory wording is on the table. A means to an end is seeing the reviled competitor dropped on the floor wallowing in their own defeat and for most, that’s exactly what they got last night.

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