Colby Covington’s shot at the championship title is causing quite a stir, and Leon Edwards is standing in his way.
The UFC Welterweight champion, Edwards, put on an impressive display at UFC 286, defending his title against Kamaru Usman in a high-profile trilogy match held at London’s O2 Arena. Interestingly, Covington was present at the event as the backup fighter and was visibly thrilled when the majority decision was announced in Edwards’ favor.
After the fight, UFC President Dana White wasted no time in declaring that “Chaos” Covington was the next contender for the championship. Despite suffering two losses to Usman in his previous four fights, Covington bounced back with an impressive victory over Jorge Masvidal. Given his recent record, and his extended time off, the guaranteed championship chance is causing quite a buzz in the MMA community.
“I definitely have a say,” Edwards told The MMA Hour. “Listen, he ain’t getting a title shot next fight. Look at the road I had to take to get there. There’s no way you’re getting beat twice by the guy that I just beat twice, went out and beat Masvidal, and then sit out for a year and a half, not even tweeting or nothing, just go missing for a year, and then randomly pops up at the weigh-ins and it’s like, ‘Okay, he’s fighting for the title next.’ It makes no sense at all, so let’s see how it plays out. He has to go out there and earn his way like I had to do.
“Khamzat and me were calling each other out for years,” he said. “This is a guy that I got matched up with three times in a row. I took the fight and didn’t take the fight and he’s getting rewarded for not taking the fight. When it was me, I got removed from the rankings. So ‘Dana White privilege’ is definitely real.”
Leon Edwards is on an incredible winning streak, with each victory adding to his already impressive record. Since his defeat to Kamaru Usman back in December 2015, Edwards hasn’t looked back, racking up an impressive 12-fight winning streak.
It’s clear that the British superstar is on a mission to dominate the UFC Welterweight division, and he’s now on the hunt for a deserving opponent for his widely anticipated second title defense.
But Edwards does not feel that Covington is the man who deserves the shot at the title at this present time.
“I feel like he needs at least one more fight,” Edwards said. “Everyone else is fighting and working their way to get to a title shot, so why should he be sitting out for a year not doing nothing and then randomly slide into the title shot? I feel like he should go out there and fight one of the top 5 guys, top 6 guys, and we’ll go from there.
“There’s literally no clear contender right now and I feel like they’re all one fight away from the world title,” he concluded. “So I’ll sit back on my throne and have a look.”