Not only will Colby Covington be in attendance later tonight (Sat., Apr. 24, 2021) at UFC 261 live on ESPN+ PPV from inside VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Fla., but “Chaos” is also looking to square up inside of the Octagon with the winner of Kamaru Usman vs. Jorge Masvidal 2.
Covington, who is coming off a dominant TKO win over former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley back in Sept. 2020, is currently waiting for his second shot at UFC gold. UFC president Dana White told reporters earlier this week that Covington is expected to face the winner of UFC 261’s main event rematch between Usman and Masvidal so “Chaos” is simply trying to make the most out of his opportunity.
Covington was planning on attending UFC 261 from the minute it was announced and even declared himself the unofficial main event backup, but now he’s aiming for White to put together a post-fight faceoff with the winner.
“I hope that Dana puts that together,” Covington told MMA Junkie. “I would love to go look the winner in the eyes and let them know I’m next. Then the fans can see how cowardice they are when they go hiding and they go looking for a way out or ‘retirement’ or ‘I’m walking away from the sport.’ I’m hoping I get to look them in the eyes tomorrow night, but I don’t know if there will be enough men in the building to hold me back from what I’m going to do to the winner tomorrow night.”
If Covington had his choice of opponent he’d prefer to see Usman defeat Masvidal for a second time and retain his UFC welterweight title. While “Chaos” shares a long history with Masvidal he’s already lost to Usman inside of the Octagon at UFC 245 in what many consider the greatest 170-pound title fight of all time. Covington is eager to take another shot at Usman and prove he’s the better fighter.
“Of course I would rather it be ‘Marty Fakenewsman,’” Covington said. “We have unfinished business. That first fight, there’s a bad taste in my mouth, there’s a bad taste in the fans’ mouth. … That fight needs to be run back. That’s the best fight that people want to see and it’s the fight that the fans deserve. But honestly, he’s already talking about retiring, so I don’t see that fight happening. He’s probably going to retire and not fight me. Masvidal doesn’t want to fight me. He’s already turned down that fight for a year. He knows who his daddy is. Jorge Masvidal’s my son, and he knows what.”
It’s only a matter of time before we find out if a full camp will help Masvidal take out Usman. If he does there’s a good chance the two welterweights run it back for a trilogy fight. If Usman is able to control Masvidal like last time and secure his fourth-straight title defense then Covington will get his shot at the champ.
MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 261 fight card right HERE, starting with the early ESPN2/ESPN+ “Prelims” matches online, which are scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. ET, then the remaining undercard balance on ESPN/ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET, before the PPV main card start time at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+ PPV.