According to UFC boss Dana White, welterweight champion Leon Edwards will defend his title against No. 2 ranked Colby Covington next.
However, the champ himself doesn’t seem too keen on the idea – and feels he should get the final word.
“I’m the king now,” Edwards told reporters at the UFC 286 post-fight press conference in London.
Leon Edwards vs Colby Covington in July?
After five hard-fought rounds, Leon Edwards managed to retain his belt as he scored a majority decision win against former champ Kamaru Usman. The two met for the third time, with “Rocky” potentially closing their chapter for good as he defeated Usman for the second time in a row.
Moments later, Colby Covington’s name was brought up in Edwards’ octagon interview with former UFC double champ Daniel Cormier.
But the champion didn’t take the bait.
“That man sat out for like a year and a half, two years. He ain’t fought nobody,” Edwards said before declaring that he’s instead got his eyes on the Gilbert Burns vs. Jorge Masvidal fight that goes down at UFC 287 in Miami on April 9 – suggesting he’d rather be defending his title against the winner of that bout.
Covington later double down on social media, tweeting “See you in July”.
Dana White seems firm, but the champ wants to have a say
At the post-fight presser, UFC boss Dana White White – famous for saying that he “don’t make fights the night of the fights” – didn’t hesitate one bit before declaring Colby Covington as the next title challenger.
He repeated that statement multiple times and even went as far as saying that Covington will be next “no matter what”, seemingly trying to shut the door on any type of discussions about the matter with Leon Edwards.
But as Edwards talked to the media shortly thereafter, the champion didn’t change is tune one bit when confronted with the news that White had just announced Covington as his next challenger.
“I don’t know how that makes sense, you know?” Edwards laughed. “You haven’t fought for a year and a half. Sat out, not injured. I just don’t get how he just slides in for the world title shot. There’s other guys in the division that’s been active, been fighting and didn’t sit out. Like I said, I’m the king now. I’ve earned my way, you know? So I feel like I should decide who’s next.”
“If Masvidal beats Burns, that’s the fight to make pay-per-view wise,” Edwards continued in response to a reporter asking if the Covington fight wouldn’t make sense for him monetarily, considering how it would sell on pay-per-view. “I just don’t see how Colby just sits out for a year, not injured, and then just slides into a title shot when I had to work my twelve fights to get there, you know?”
“When I was trying to get my title shot, he was like, ‘Who is he? I don’t know who he is.’ Now, I’m the king, and now they say he’s allowed to just jump the line and to jump straight in,” the champion added, before doubling down once again on the fact that he’s the welterweight king now and therefor will decide who’ll get the next shot.
In other words, it looks like Edwards and the UFC brass will in fact need to have a word or two behind closed doors before we really know for sure what will happen next regarding the title picture in the promotion’s stacked 170 lbs division.
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