BREAKING: Colby Covington weighs in as UFC 286 back-up for Leon Edwards vs. Kamaru Usman

Former UFC welterweight title challenger Colby Covington has officially weighed-in as a back-up fighter for Leon Edwards vs. Kamaru Usman at UFC 286.

Kamaru Usman is set to take on Leon Edwards this weekend at the O2 Arena in London, United Kingdom. The bout will be an opportunity for 'The Nigerian Nightmare' to avenge his loss to 'Rocky' and win the welterweight championship back on his opponent's home turf.

ROUND 3 🔥 #UFC286 https://t.co/fWjqdKCRR7

With just under two days remaining for the highly anticipated trilogy between Leon Edwards and Kamaru Usman, rumors suggesting that 'Chaos' was a back-up fighter began to spread.

While there was no confirmation from the UFC, neither Edwards nor 'The Nigerian Nightmare' seemed to have any clue about it.

However, the speculation turned out to be right at the official weigh-ins as Colby Covington surprised everyone by hitting the scales and weighing in at 170lbs, the welterweight championship limit.

It is worth noting that 'Chaos' was last seen inside the octagon in March 2022 against his former friend and training partner, Jorge Masvidal, where he walked away with a unanimous decision victory.

While the chances of getting the opportunity to step-in to replace of Leon Edwards or Kamaru Usman are pretty slim, if he does, it will be a third opportunity for Colby Covington to fight for the title.

Covington has faced Kamaru Usman twice in the past for the UFC welterweight championship. However, he came up short on both occasions. Their first fight took place in 2019 at UFC 245, 'The Nigerian Nightmare' ended up winning the bout via a fifth-round stoppage to mark his first title defense.

SILENCED. 🤫

@Usman84kg HAS FINISHED COLBY COVINGTON! #UFC245 🏆

Get the E+ PPV ➡️ bit.ly/2YYfYit #UFC245 https://t.co/CGF4NgdaBu

Two years later, the duo crossed paths again at UFC 268 in 2021. While Covington was able to take Kamaru Usman the entire distance this time around, he didn't do enough to earn the judges' nod and ended up suffering a unanimous decision loss.

Kamaru Usman and Colby Covington gave us a five-round war at #UFC268 🔥

All respect after going toe-to-toe for 25 minutes.

Sit back and enjoy the highlights from a superb main-event at Madison Square Garden... https://t.co/DhuYyOHkE3