Dana White remains to be attempting to justify his determination to fit Colby Covington in because the next title challenger for Welterweight champion, Leon Edwards.
Covington surprised everyone (well, almost everyone) when he confirmed up on the UFC 286 weigh-ins to play back-up in case any points arose with the Leon Edwards vs. Kamaru Usman most important occasion. His companies weren’t wanted, however White cited Colby’s willingness to come back to London, England, and make weight as one among a number of causes “Chaos” deserved a title shot.
Even when Covington wasn’t some of the hated fighters on UFC’s roster, lots of people would have nonetheless questioned the choice to offer him one other crack on the 170-pound title. Edwards himself flatly dismissed the concept of combating Covington subsequent, repeatedly saying he wouldn’t do it.
At UFC San Antonio’s post-fight press conference, White addressed Edwards’ refusal to simply accept his matchmaking.
“Hear, it’s not like I’m an enormous, ‘Oh Colby!’ Colby Covington deserves this shot on the title,” White stated. “I don’t blame Leon. Leon simply received by means of Usman twice and now he’s taking a look at one other wrestler with a cool fashion that’s robust to cope with. If you develop into the champ, all people’s coming after you. All of the straight killers are coming after you for the following thrice a f—king yr.
“You’re confronted with nothing however the baddest dudes on the earth in your division,” White continued. “If you happen to have a look at Usman and what he did? Usman ran by means of that division twice. Usman’s one of many best of all time. Leon simply beat him twice. You’re the person, Leon. You’re the man. And everybody’s coming after you, and it’s going to be Colby subsequent.”
However, what about Covington’s year-long absence, or his seeming unwillingness to face different Welterweight contenders like Khamzat Chimaev or Belal Muhammad? Does “Chaos” actually deserve a fourth title shot off a singular win over Jorge Masvidal since his final go on the belt? White didn’t tackle these questions, however did give some perception into his thought course of.
“If Usman doesn’t exist, Colby’s been the champ now for some time,” Dana stated. “He’s been there eternally. He minimize the load. He confirmed as much as fill in for that struggle and 1,000,000 different the reason why he deserves that struggle.”
This isn’t the primary time UFC’s president has stated Covington would have been the undisputed Welterweight champion if it weren’t for that darned Usman. So, he’s not taking a look at Covington’s latest report (or lack thereof) and comparing it to the records of other top UFC welterweights like Belal Muhammad when making his determination. “Chaos” exists in White’s thoughts as a perennial No. 1 contender, so it makes good sense that he’d get the decision after Usman was toppled.
After all, it’s fairly straightforward to carry onto that notion as a prime canine whenever you refuse to struggle anybody aside from the champion or stylistically advantageous opponents. However, we will’t hate on Covington for gaming the system when it’s clearly figuring out so properly for him.
