Colby Covington is ready to add some stability to the highly anticipated Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) return to Madison Square Garden in New York City at UFC 295 on Nov. 11, 2023.
UFC 295’s biggest attraction is set as Heavyweight champion, Jon Jones, returns to attempt to make his first title defense in the division against former two-time titleholder, Stipe Miocic. Meanwhile, the mixed martial arts (MMA) world awaits the finalization of the next Welterweight championship bout, which is expected to see the champion, Leon Edwards, challenged by Covington.
UFC President, Dana White, told Adam Catterall earlier today (Thurs., July 20, 2023) that the promotion is targeting UFC 295 as the event to host Edwards vs. Covington. “Chaos” is all for the idea as he’s ready to fight again and doesn’t feel his old college roommate can be trusted to make it to fight night.
“I think this is going to go down in ‘The Garden.’ I think it lines up on the board perfectly,” Covington said on Chael Sonnen’s YouTube channel. “You know, they keep making a big deal out of this 30th-anniversary show. Then what better way than to give the gift of us in Madison Square Garden for the 30th-anniversary show in New York?
“They gotta stack that card,” he continued. “They can’t depend on Jon Jones and you know better than anyone. He’s unreliable. He’s unprofessional. He could get popped for steroids. He could do a glass of tequila and some booger sugar up his nose and he might be beating his wife and in jail again. So, who better than to have his insurance policy than Colby ‘Chaos’ Covington? The guy that just so happens to occupy fourth-highest gate in arena history in Madison Square Garden.”
Covington, 35, last fought at UFC 272 in March 2022, earning a unanimous decision win over best friend-turned bitter rival, Jorge Masvidal. “Chaos” had been quiet following his victory until March 2023 as he dealt with — and still deals with — an ongoing assault case involving Masvidal. He didn’t re-emerge in the public eye until called to act as the backup fighter for Edwards’ trilogy with former champion, Kamaru Usman.
Early rumblings indicated that Edwards vs. Covington could have gone down as soon as this weekend (Sat., July 22, 2023) in London, England after Edwards’ most recent title defense. Negotiations stalled, however, and Covington points the blame on Edwards.
“There must be something wrong on Leon’s side,” Covington said. “Maybe he’s injured, maybe something’s going on, maybe he needs a little bit more time to get ready for ‘Chaos.’ But this fight’s gonna happen. They’re not gonna put this in the desert in Abu Dhabi. What sense does that make?
“At the latest, I just don’t see it being pushed back by December in Vegas,” he concluded. “I think he’s gonna get stripped if it goes anything beyond that.”