UFC President Dana White has some very good news for welterweight contender Colby Covington.
This weekend at UFC 261, Kamaru Usman will defend his welterweight title against Jorge Masvidal for a second time. Masvidal took the first fight on very short notice in July of 2020 on Fight Island. Usman would win that fight by unanimous decision in a dominant performance. While Usman would move on after the fight, Masvidal made the decision to wait for his next opportunity against the champ.
Meanwhile in the division, Colby Covington put on his own dominant performance, with a win over Tyron Woodley. After this win, he would start his campaign about why he deserves the next shot at the title. He would go at Gilbert Burns, calling him a washed up lightweight when he was given the next chance to dethrone Usman. He would also go at Usman, saying that he only wants to fight bums.
Well, it appears that Covington’s strategies may have paid off according to Dana White. In an interview with TSN, White provided details about where he wants the division to go after this weekend. (H/T mmanews.com)
“(Usman’s) at a point in his career now where he’s looking at, ‘Who’s next again? He’s coming back and gonna be facing guys that he’s already beat. So obviously, Masvidal took that fight on short notice, so let’s give him this fight, and we can do away with all the excuses. And then, Colby Covington’s next.”
Obviously, nothing is signed yet and this match up would hender on if Usman wins this weekend. I think this is a win-win situation for the UFC.
If Masvidal wins, they have two very good options. They can do a trilogy fight with Usman or Covington can finally fight his former roommate for the belt.
If Usman wins, then the path for Covington to get his shot again is very clear, like White said.