Colby Covington claims he turned down Leon Edwards fight as he was busy romancing fellow UFC fighter Polyana Viana
Colby Covington has finally revealed why he refused to step in and fight Leon Edwards at the recently concluded UFC Vegas 21 card.
'Chaos' admitted that he was busy romancing fellow UFC fighter Polyana Viana and there was always a steep price tag for the UFC to get him off the couch on three weeks' notice.
During his latest interview with Submission Radio, Colby Covington said that he wanted a paycheck bigger than the one on his current contract. Covington added that he wasn't going to show up for a normal paycheck to fight Edwards.
"There wasn't much talks you know. I was ba**s deep in Polyana Viana, so get me off the couch in three weeks notice to fight some Leon Scott guy. You know, it was going to be a price tag. I wanted a little bit more than was in my contract, I just wasn't gonna show up for a normal paycheck to fight that guy. The way I fight guys, I redline it every time I fight."
Colby Covington further described his style of fighting, labeling himself a "Ferrari" who is always moving forward with high octane and energy. Hence, 'Chaos' claimed that he would only accept a fight under a full training camp - unless the UFC threw big money at him.
The former interim UFC welterweight champion also added that he was never going to fight on an "irrelevant card" against Edwards, whom he billed as an "irrelevant guy".
"So when I fight you know you're getting a Ferrari that's coming forward, high octane, high energy, and he's coming to fight and bring the fight. So if I want to fight at my best, I need a full training camp. That fight was never gonna happen unless the UFC was gonna pay for it to happen because like I said before, I was with Polyana Viana. I got better things to do than show up on some irrelevant card against some irrelevant guy named Leon Scott."
Who could Colby Covington fight next?
Colby Covington has been gunning for a title rematch against Kamaru Usman for a while. After his loss to the current champion at UFC 245, 'Chaos' bounced back with a win over former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley in his last fight.
Over the past few weeks, Covington has been called out by the fighter ranked right behind him, Gilbert Burns. The #2 ranked welterweight wants to test himself against 'Chaos' after falling short against Usman at UFC 258.