Colby Covington names top pick for UFC title fight location, denies October Abu Dhabi speculation
The next UFC welterweight title bout seems set, as champion Leon Edwards is widely expected to defend his crown against Colby Covington in the near future.
The only questions surrounding the Edwards vs. Covington fight right now are when and where it will happen. Initially, the hope was that the clash could go down in London in July, but it’s since been confirmed that won’t be the case.
The UFC is now looking at London in July as a Fight Night instead of PPV with Leon Edwards refusal to fight then, confirms Dana White. #UFCKansasCity https://t.co/Fy0h1KUcCf
April, meanwhile, saw Edwards suggest that UFC 294, which is set to take place in Abu Dhabi on October 21, could be “perfect” for him.
Now, though, Covington has thrown another curveball into the mix. In a recent interview with Submission Radio, he seemed to shoot down the idea of fighting in the Middle East entirely.
“Yeah you know, (Abu Dhabi) is an odd place to do it, you know? This is going to happen on American soil. That’s where the biggest and best business gets done anyway, boys, that’s where this market is at, you know? The biggest and best markets are over here in America so we’re gonna do this...it’s gonna be a spectacle, it’s gonna be a big thing so...you know, Leon’s got no say in this, he’s gotta sit there and get what he takes like a good little boy...he doesn’t get to pick, he has no say in the matter, he just needs to show up where the UFC tells him.”
Covington went onto slam ‘Rocky’ for turning down the London date for the fight.
“Like I told him before, don’t cross the boss Leon! The fact that you just turned down a home date in London, how do you turn that down? That’s disgusting! You’re cheating on your fans, you’re robbing all of your people of a main event!”
Watch Colby Covington’s interview below.
Judging by this, then, it looks like Colby Covington will be looking for one of the US-based events to take his shot at Edwards and the welterweight crown.
Leon Edwards vs. Colby Covington – how did Colby get his shot at ‘Rocky’?
It’s probably safe to say that the fact that Colby Covington is receiving the next shot at UFC welterweight champion Leon Edwards is a bit of a touchy subject.
The fight was announced by Dana White following Edwards’ win over former champ Kamaru Usman at UFC 286 in March.
Dana White says Colby Covington is next for Leon Edwards… https://t.co/8OyrGrqEUO
However, some observers were shocked by the decision, pointing out that No.2 ranked Covington had not fought since his March 2022 win over Jorge Masvidal and had arguably not earned the shot.
With the likes of Gilbert Burns and Belal Muhammad on lengthy win streaks at the time the fight was announced, their argument did seem like a sound one.
Despite this, it seems that White is going to push through with the Edwards vs. Covington fight no matter what. Last month it was even rumoured that ‘Rocky’ could be stripped of his title if he refused to fight ‘Chaos’.
Therefore, with Muhammad now being promised a shot at the winner after he beat Burns this weekend, it seems like the welterweight title picture is set for the foreseeable future.