Some may have thought that Colby Covington made the right call by turning down a fight with Leon Edwards. However Kamaru Usman thinks this was the wrong move, especially if Colby wants a shot at his welterweight title.
It is no secret that Usman and Covington are not fans of each other. Their bad blood was evident both in and outside the Octagon, with them taking things to the cage in an attempt to settle their beef.
In the end, Kamaru got the better of Colby in their fight, but it was a back and forth affair. Since then, Covington has rebounded with a win over Tyron Woodley, and is trying to make his way back to the welterweight title shot.
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Kamaru Usman Rips Colby Covington
Another person trying to make their way to a shot at Kamaru Usman, is number 3 ranked Leon Edwards. Leon’s opponent recently fell out, which led to an opening for someone to step up. At first it seemed like Colby Covington would fill the spot, but in the end this did not come together.
Speaking in a recent interview, Kamaru made it clear that he did not think this was a smart decision for Covington to make. He said that if Colby wants to get back to the title, he should have taken the opportunity in front of him.
“I think he made a huge mistake, a tremendous mistake,” Usman said. “Who turns down a paycheck? He turned down a paycheck. That’s horrible. You can’t do that. I mean, maybe he’s not hurting for money. But you can’t turn down a paycheck. Then on top of it, you turned down a chance to really remind the fans.
“I understand, you’ve got to win. But that’s one win in how long? (Tyron) Woodley’s coming off a two-fight, three-fight skid. It’s a tough one to basically say, ‘Oh, all right, you’ve got one win. You’re back in.’ For a guy that’s coming off a two, three-fight skid, that was a tough one.”
That said, Usman said that he would feel differently about having a rematch with Covington, had he taken and won this fight against Edwards. However he says that Colby is in no position to be making demands to the UFC.
“For you to sit here and demand, ‘Oh, yeah, I’ve done enough. I demand a shot’ … First of all, you weren’t (the UFC’s) favorite in the first place,” Usman said.
“You’re not. So you can’t sit here (and say that). It’s not that you’re selling mad pay-per-per views. You don’t really do that, as well. So for you to sit here and demand something like that, I think it’s ridiculous. I think the best way for you to solidify your title shot is to go out there and fight.
“And what better way than to knock off the No. 3 (ranked) guy? He’s on his way up. He’s making the claim to the throne that he deserves that shot. What better way than to knock him off? He failed to do that and I think he made a tremendous mistake.”
For now, Kamaru Usman has his sights set on a fight and potential coaching gig on TUF against Jorge Masvidal. It will be interesting to see what Colby Covington has to go through to get another shot at gold.
