The welterweight title picture is seeming like more of a mess than it was at the start of the day.
And that’s tough to do. With champion Tyron Woodley currently on the sidelines recovering from surgery for a dislocated thumb, the champ’s next fight remains unknown. It’s expected he will face former interim champion Colby Covington at March’s UFC 235. However, Kamaru Usman recently unveiled a sign bout agreement to fight for the title, throwing more uncertainty into the picture.
Usman’s manager Ali Abdelaziz doubled down on that stance on MMAjunkie Radio today, noting Usman didn’t have to wait on Woodley:
“Brother, I don’t need to wait on Woodley,” Abdelaziz said. “He’s the UFC champion. First of all, he was ready to fight Colby Covington, just to be fair to Woodley, because I think we’re not fair to Woodley sometimes. I believe he’s one of the greatest welterweights of all time, my opinion. But I think right now he was ready to fight Colby Covington, and he was the interim belt. Colby Covington said, ‘No, my nose hurts.’
“Usman just had a crazy performance over (Rafael dos Anjos), five-round domination. How do you not give it to him? And he was willing to fight Colby Covington in January and February, but Covington said no. That’s why I went to Dana and said, ‘He said no. We’re ready to fight now, injured.’ Shout out to the UFC. I think sometimes we smash the UFC, but I’ve got to give them a shoutout for giving the guys the titles they deserve, and Usman (expletive) deserves it.”
White Somehow Agrees
UFC President Dana White apparently agreed as he told MMAjunkie via text that Usman was fighting for the title in his next fight no matter what:
“That fight is happening or Usman vs. someone for the title.”
That would suggest that Usman would be fighting Covington for the title, but ‘Chaos’ quickly told John Morgan the only fight he wants is him vs. Woodley:
“Listen John, UFC fans are dumb, but they aren’t stupid,” Covington said. “If the marquee doesn’t say Covington vs. Woodley, then it ain’t a title fight. Print that.”
Woodley then tweeted out his response, claiming he only wanted the Covington bout agreement for Christmas. He didn’t get it, so wondered if Covington had “bitched out”:
This situation somehow seems more confusing than it was earlier this week, which is saying a ton. Until Woodley heals up and his return is confirmed, it’s likely to stay that way.
The UFC obviously wants to play hardball with “The Chosen One,” but his feud with Covington simply has to play out in the cage. Covington vs. Usman for the interim welterweight gold just doesn’t have nearly the same ring to it.
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