Kamaru Usman vs. Colby Covington didn’t materialize for UFC 244 and UFC president Dana White has an explanation.
Usman is the reigning UFC welterweight champion. Covington has been slotted as the number one contender. Plans were in place to have the two meet in a title bout on Nov. 2. It would’ve served as UFC 244’s main event inside Madison Square Garden in New York City.
Dana White Discusses What Went Wrong With Usman vs. Covington
Plans changed as now the main event for UFC 244 will be Nate Diaz vs. Jorge Masvidal. Speaking to ESPN’s Brett Okamoto, White explained why Usman vs. Covington won’t be happening in November.
“That fight completely fell apart with those two. So that fight fell apart and at one point it looked like we might be doing Masvidal vs. Usman, then that fell apart. And this thing popped up out of nowhere last night and really started to come together and look like it could be done. So we got it done.”
This isn’t the first time Covington has missed out on a title shot. He was offered a Sept. 2018 title clash with Tyron Woodley, but opted to undergo nasal surgery. White made it clear that the UFC never stops moving.
“Remember this, I put on fights for a living. That’s what I do. So when I go out and tell you, ‘we’ll do this guy vs. this guy. This guy’s next.’ If it doesn’t happen, it’s not me. I’m out there trying to make fights. I just got Diaz-Masvidal done, which is unbelievable. Like I told you the other day, what guys say publicly and what goes on behind closed doors are two different things. The thing about me is, I don’t wait for anybody. I don’t care how big a star you are or what your situation is. I have a fight at MSG and people wanna go and people wanna watch the fight and people wanna buy tickets. So we move, we roll. You either get on board or you get left behind and we’ll talk to you later on down the road.”
