- Dana White said Colby Covington has earned the right to be Leon Edwards’ next title challenger
- “Chaos” commented on the subject on social media and addressed it to “Rocky”
UFC president Dana White is not open to negotiations and will stick to Colby Covington as Leon Edwards’ next title challenger.
It is what it is
After defending his welterweight belt at UFC 286, Edwards has made it clear that he doesn’t agree with White’s decision to hand Covington a title shot. Speaking to the media at UFC San Antonio, the UFC president doubled down on his call and explained why “Chaos” is the rightful next welterweight title challenger.
“I did [say Covington is next]. That is true, but that was a no-brainer. I mean, Colby is, if Usman doesn’t exist, Colby’s been the champ now for a while and he’s been there forever. He cut the weight, he showed up to fill in for that fight and a million other reasons why he deserves that fight,” White explained.
“Colby Covington deserves this shot at the title. I don’t blame Leon. Leon just got through Usman twice and now he’s looking at another wrestler now with a funky style that’s tough to deal with. I mean, when you become the champ, everybody’s coming after you. All the straight killers are coming after you for the next three times a f**king year, you’re faced with nothing but the baddest dudes in the world in your division… If you look at Usman and what he did, Usman ran through that division twice. Usman’s one of the greatest of all time. Leon just beat him twice. You’re the man, Leon. You’re the guy. And everyone’s coming after you, and it’s going to be Colby next,” he later added.
Don’t whine, champ
Covington, meanwhile, was evidently pleased with White’s persistence. In a comment on The Mac Life’s post about the UFC boss’ statement, “Chaos” advised Edwards to stop whining and just face him.
“Someone wake @leonedwardsmma up so he can cry himself back to sleep 😭 #SeeYouSoonJunior,” Covington wrote.
Prior to White’s confirmation, Covington had already stated that there’s nothing Edwards could do now but to get in there and defend his title against him.
The controversy was triggered by Covington’s one-year inactivity as many, including “Rocky,” think “Chaos” leaped over other top contenders who have worked their way to title contention.
