There hasn’t been much movement on a title fight between Welterweight champion, Leon Edwards, and Colby Covington after Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) president, Dana White, proclaimed that “Chaos” was deserving of the championship bout.
But Covington, for one, is all but certain that the title fight is still his, even if “Rocky” is doing his best to stall.
“That’s the last thing [UFC President] Dana [White] had told me in Miami when we had dinner,” Covington told Chael Sonnen (via MMA Fighting). “Leon didn’t want to have a homecoming day. He wanted to rob his fans of a pay-per-view. He thinks they’re deserving of this s***** Fight Night card this weekend. So I feel bad for the fans of London,” he added before another UFC executive guaranteed him he’d be next.
“Now the last time I had heard, [my title fight] was August September from [UFC executive] Hunter Campbell, and he’s a man of his word. The title shot is guaranteed. I know I’m gonna get it. There must be something wrong on Leon side.”
Edwards did reveal that he’d be ready to fight at UFC 294, but that fight card will now be headlined by a Lightweight title fight between Islam Makhachev and Charles Oliveira. UFC 295, meanwhile, is currently set to be headlined by Jon Jones defending his Heavyweight belt against Stipe Miocic on Nov. 11, 2023. Though “Bones” can’t be relied upon to show up, says Covington.
Still, “Chaos” says it’s inevitable that he and Edwards collide in the center of the cage after both Dustin Poirier and Khamzat Chimaev turned him down.
“From my side, I’ve been ready since day one, since the Jorge [Masvidal] fight,” Covington said. “I’ve accepted every fight that’s been offered my way. First it was Dustin, they wanted to make that fight. They saw the potential and a big fight there and Dustin’s a p****. He’s scared, he ran away from the challenge. Now we know that he’s all talk, he’s no walk.
“Then it was Chimaev. I was ready to end the hype with Chimaev, but he’s scared. He’s unprofessional. He’s a little dork. He ran away from the division. He’s scared to fight. He talks all this big game online, but he don’t talk inside the octagon. He don’t sign contracts and be a professional.”
Poirier and Covington have an extended beef that arose when they were both training at American Top Team (ATT). But “Diamond” has his sights set on Justin Gaethje, whom he will rematch this Saturday (July 29, 2023) at UFC 291 for the “BMF” title. As for Chimaev, he is gearing up for his much-anticipated return to face Paulo Costa in the co-main event of UFC 294 in Abu Dhabi this October.
For now, Covington will keep playing the waiting game to see when and where he gets the chance to dethrone Edwards from the top of the 170-pound mountain.