"The winner of that fight would fight Usman next" - Dana White confirms UFC plans to book Leon Edwards vs. Colby Covington
Leon Edwards is once again without an opponent for his UFC return. However, UFC President Dana White has confirmed that the promotion is now looking to book Colby Covington as an opponent for Rocky.
While speaking to the media at the UFC 258 face-off, White mentioned that following Khamzat Chimaev's withdrawal from the March 13 card, the UFC is looking into Colby Covington vs. Leon Edwards.
Interestingly enough, the UFC President also added that the winner of Leon vs. Colby would go on to face Kamaru Usman for the UFC welterweight championship.
“I think what we do now, with what happened to Khazmat, we’re looking at Colby vs. Leon. The winner of that fight would fight Usman next.”
Dana White added that a fight between Leon Edwards and Colby Covington makes sense right now. The UFC President also gave props to Rocky for taking a fight against the No. 15 ranked fighter in the form of Chimaev. He added the UFC is willing to show the respect Edwards deserves.
“That’s what makes sense right now. That’s the fight. Listen, for a guy like Leon, Leon accepts the fight with a No. 15 ranked guy who is a savage. Nobody else wants to fight this guy. He accepts the fight. The fight keeps falling out left and right. Now, this happens to him? We’ve got to go (up) with him, not (down) to show the kid the respect he deserves and stepping up and taking these fights and doing what he’s done. (We’ll) get him the right fight.”
When asked about Covington possibly stepping in to fight within a month, White said that 'Chaos' is ready and believes he has been training anyway.
“Sure, (it could happen March 13). I think Colby has been training anyway. I think Colby is ready to fight. I don’t know. This thing just happened yesterday. We’re still scrambling.”
Could Leon Edwards fight Colby Covington in March?
Dana White recently made it clear that the UFC is looking to book two welterweight fighters as coaches for the upcoming season of The Ultimate Fighter. While the majority of fans believe that Colby Covington and Jorge Masvidal are the likeliest of options, it remains to be seen what plans the UFC has in store for TUF.
Leon Edwards could very well replace 'Gamebred' and be in prime position to face Colby Covington from here onwards.