Leon Edwards has quite a few options for his second title defense after beating Kamaru Usman at UFC 286.
But in the end, it probably won’t be left for the UFC Welterweight Champion to decide who is next as UFC President Dana White has already settled on Colby Covington. Edwards isn’t a fan of White’s direction with this and instead wants Jorge Masvidal if he were to win at UFC 287.
‘He’s Not Sexy’
There’s also Belal Muhammad who has a good case for a title shot, but neither Edwards or White seem to think he should get the opportunity just yet. However, former UFC Champion Daniel Cormier would throw ‘Remember The Name’ into the mix with other welterweight contenders when discussing who should take on Edwards next.
“You start to think about what’s next, it says Colby Covington,” Cormier said on DC & RC. “Leon says he doesn’t want that fight. I believe outside of Jorge Masvidal, that is the most lucrative fight for him.
“When you start to look at who’s warranted, Belal Muhammad’s the most warranted. He’s done the most and deserves the fight, but he’s not sexy. The name’s not sexy. Colby Covington’s name is sexy. It draws people in. Whether you love him or you hate him, you have an opinion of him.”
What About Masvidal?
Aside from the streaking warranty of Muhammad and the sellable ‘sexiness’ of Covington, there also lies Masvidal, which would be a heck of a storyline should he meet Edwards again. This comes after a scuffle back in 2019, where ‘Gamebred’ assaulted Edwards backstage of a UFC event in London.
“Him and ‘Gamebred’ have a very bad history, a real beef,” Cormier said. “You don’t do what you did to a guy like Leon Edwards and get away with it, right? You may not be able to see it on the surface but Leon Edwards ain’t one to play with. Leon Edwards is a real dude. He ain’t one to play with, bro. You don’t really get to do what Mavado did and usually just get away with it.
“So, that fight makes all the sense in the world, but Masvidal has to beat Gilbert Burns, which is not a guarantee.”
DC Guesses Who Will Be Next For Edwards
Cormier would also include Gilbert Burns in the title conversation, but out of all the options, DC would land on one name who he thinks will be next for the champ Leon Edwards. And that’s Colby Covington.
“But what if Gilbert Burns wins? Look at what he did to Neil Magny, then he beat Masvidal. [Edwards] has options. The most deserving is Belal Muhammad. The most lucrative as of right now is Colby Covington. In three weeks, could change [if] Masvidal wins. That’s the worst case scenario for Colby Covington is Masvidal wins, because then he may get jumped. But if I’m guessing just like Aljamain [Sterling] said he wasn’t fighting till July and now he’s scheduled in May, I would assume it’ll be Colby Covington.”
