Colby Covington is going to be waking up to some good news this morning.
At UFC 261, Kamaru Usman will be facing Jorge Masvidal in the main event of the evening. This fight was made even after Colby Covington was placed as the #1 contender while Masvidal was ranked three spots behind him at #4. Covington made his displeasure of the situation well known, calling Usman a coward for choosing the “easy” fight in Masvidal, someone whom Usman had already handily defeated last year.
With the title shot seemingly out of reach, Covington volunteered to be the backup for the UFC 261 title fight, but that will no longer be necessary according to UFC President Dana White.
Dana White Says Colby Covington Is Next In Line For Usman
It appears that Colby Covington’s waiting strategy has paid off because if Usman defeats Masvidal for a second time, Dana White says that Colby Covington would be next for the champion.
“(Usman’s) at a point in his career now where he’s looking at, ‘Who’s next again?’” Dana White said in an interview with TSN released Monday night. “He’s coming back and gonna be facing guys that he’s already beat. So obviously, Masvidal took that fight on short notice, so let’s give him this fight, and we can do away with all the excuses. And then, Colby Covington’s next.”
Dana White suggested that he came to this conclusion after meeting with Kamaru Usman following UFC 251, so it’s unclear if this was a collaborative decision between Usman and White, or if it was all the idea of only one of the two gentlemen.
This seems to be more likely White talking than Usman because after Covington turned down a fight against Leon Edwards, Usman stated that his nemesis made a poor decision and took himself out of the title picture. Since then, he has criticized Covington even further by stating he needs to be more active to deserve a title shot.
We also now know that Leon Edwards will be facing Nate Diaz next month at UFC 262. But even with all these moving parts, White didn’t throw out his usual, “We’ll see how everything plays out” response. Instead, it seems his mind is already made up on whom Usman will face if he gets through Jorge Masvidal this Saturday: Colby “Chaos” Covington.
Do you think Colby Covington should be next for Kamaru Usman if Usman retains the title at UFC 261?
