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MMA
UFC

Colby Covington calls out 'fake ref' Marc Goddard after loss in UFC 245

Nolan King
MMA Junkie

Colby Covington isn't thrilled with the stoppage in his UFC 245 main event bout against Kamaru Usman.

Covington (15-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC) suffered his first TKO loss at the hands of Usman (16-1 MMA, 11-0 UFC), who finished the American Top Team product at the 4:10 mark of Round 5.

Covington elected not to give an interview following the rendering of the official decision. Instead, he ran out of the cage and sprinted down the arena floor and into the locker room. Covington did not speak with the media after the event because he was transported to a local hospital for a likely broken jaw.

Shortly after the conclusion of the event, Covington jumped on Twitter and issued his first statement since the loss. Covington made it known he wasn't thrilled with referee Marc Goddard's stoppage.

Kamaru Usman, left, hits Colby Covington in a mixed martial arts welterweight championship bout at UFC 245.

According to Covington, Goddard "robbed" him of the ability to "go in there to kill or be killed." Additionally, Covington took exception with fouls called earlier in the fight β€” though he didn't have points taken away for an eye poke or a groin kick.

Covington tweeted, in part, "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 eye poke. Fake stoppage. Fake ref."

Covington's defeat snapped a seven-fight winning streak. His only previous defeat was a 2015 loss to Warlley Alves.

UFC245 took place Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The main card streamed on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN2 and early prelims on UFC Fight Pass/ESPN+.

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