Colby Covington reacts to Leon Edwards' win over Nate Diaz at UFC 263
UFC welterweight contender Colby Covington has spoken out about Leon Edwards' recent victory over Nate Diaz.
'Chaos' is likely to be next in line for a shot against current champion Kamaru Usman, with his main competitor for that matchup being Edwards.
Somewhat unsurprisingly, Covington discredited Edwards' victory, claiming the fact that the Jamaican-born fighter was rocked by Diaz is an indicator that he is not among the 170-pound elite.
Colby Covington reacts to Edwards vs. Diaz
In a recent interview with Kacper Rosolowski and Denis Shkuratov of Submission Radio, Colby Covington revealed what he thought of Edwards getting rocked by Diaz in the last round of their fight.
"I think that's hilarious," said Covington. "I think 'Edwards Scissor Hands', you know, he's out here claiming to be this God, saying he's ready for a title shot. Dude, your struggling with a lightweight journeyman who has double digit losses on his record and this guys almost finishing you. And you think you need to be in a title shot?"
Colby Covington was clear in his belief that a win over Nate Diaz should not be enough to propel anyone into a title shot, and that Edwards needs more fights under his belt before having a crack at 170-pound gold. He stated the following-
"That guy needs to go win ten more fights, or 20 more fights if he's getting beat - if he can't get by Nate Diaz like that. The guys the Stockton soyboy, you know. He's been finished by everybody. The guys got no gas left in the tank. He's even saying it himself that he's got no motivation left to fight." Colby Covington said.
Covington ended with a definitive statement-
'If you're struggling with a guy like Nate Diaz, there's no way you belong anywhere close to a world title fight."
Colby Covington's recent fight history
Whilst Colby Covington is asking for a title shot next, it is notable that he lost to current champion Kamru Usman only two fights ago.
The two men had a back and forth war, in which Covington's jaw was broken. Despite the injury, he continued fighting until the fifth round, where Usman picked up a controversial TKO victory.
Since then, Covington has only fought once. He faced off against former champion Tyron Woodley, whom he dominated for four rounds until the fight was forced to be stopped in the fifth after Woodley suffered a broken rib. Woodley has since been released by the UFC.