Colby Covington has declared himself the official backup for the upcoming welterweight title fight rematch between champion Kamaru Usman and Jorge Masvidal at UFC 261 later this month.
Seeing as Covington is the No. 1-ranked welterweight in the world this isn’t that far of a stretch. UFC hasn’t made anything official, but if something was to happen to either Usman or “Gamebred” it makes sense to bring Covington in and keep the show rolling.
“I’m going to evaluate things when that fight happens,” Covington said in an interview with “The Schmo.” “Everybody knows: The UFC hasn’t told me, but I think it’s pretty self-explanatory that I’m the backup guy. If anything happens, anybody gets COVID, anybody gets cold feet and pulls out of that fight, I’m showing up. That’s right down the road from me.
“We’re in Miami, Fla., right now. That’s a three-and-a-half hour, four-hour ride. I’ll take a bus over to Jacksonville, and I’ll be showing up for the fight. I’ll be there. So if anybody pulls out, I’ll be stepping in and we’ll evaluate from there. I just want to put on good fights and capitalize on the prime of my career, which is what I’m in. So we’ll see what happens in a couple of weeks.”
Covington, 33, is coming off a dominant TKO win over former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley in Sept. 2020. While “Chaos” was defeated by Usman via TKO back at UFC 245 in 2019 it was arguably the toughest fight to date for Usman. Covington is undoubtedly one of the best 170-pound fighters in the world today and a contender who is likely to fight his way back to a title shot anyways. Having Covington on queue for UFC 261 couldn’t be a better situation for the promotion, especially since the brash welterweight has history with both Usman and Masvidal.
“That’s up to Dana White and Hunter Campbell,” Covington said about being named the official backup. “That’s their decision. That’s their business and what they want. But I’m staying ready. I have my weight ready to go. I’m training, preparing like I’m fighting April 24 for the world title. So if they want me to weigh in, I’d love to weigh in. If not, it’s OK. I’ll be there in attendance, and I’ll be ready to go in case anybody pulls out last minute.”
What say you, Maniacs? Should UFC name Covington the official backup for Usman vs. Masvidal 2?
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