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Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) welterweight title contender, Colby Covington, has a right to be worried about his UFC 245 pay-per-view (PPV) title bout against Kamaru Usman this December in Las Vegas, especially considering how many times their fight has previously failed to materialize.
“The Nigerian Nightmare” said he was undergoing surgery after taking the 170-pound title from Tyron Woodley back in March, then inexplicably stretched a six-week timeout into six months, while Covington stayed busy against former champion, Robbie Lawler.
“There is a very real possibility he doesn’t show up,” Covington told theScoreMMA. “That is the only thing I’m worried about, I’m not worried about anything on my end. I know what I bring to the table, the UFC knows what I bring to the table. I’m going to show up Dec. 14 and the most coveted title in sports will get defended.”
The promotion originally tried to book this overdue grudge match for UFC 244 in New York; however, “Chaos” claimed the promotion was giving him a raw deal and held out for a better payday. What changed the second time around is unclear, but at least pen is (finally) to paper.
The winner may be expected to defend against Woodley at some point in early 2020, though I reckon the winner of Jorge Masvidal vs. Nate Diaz next month in New York City also has a pretty good argument for next crack at the welterweight crown.