Colby Covington and Kamaru Usman will be running it back.
Ever since Usman knocked out Jorge Masvidal at UFC 261 many wondered who would be next for the welterweight champ. He has plenty of options with the likes of Covington, Stephen Thompson, the Leon Edwards-Nate Diaz winner, or Michael Chiesa. But, according to White, it will be the Covington rematch.
“Colby Covington is next,” Dana White wrote in the comments of a Kevin Iole Instagram Live when Iole was talking about Usman’s next fight.
Although Covington is the number one contender and the first fight against Usman was one of the Fights of the Year and was competitive, Usman and his team didn’t want the rematch. Ali Abdelaziz, Usman’s manager had said he thought Chiesa should get the next shot.
“Listen, Kamaru earned every right to do what he wants right now. But, we are respectful to Dana and his wishes and we are going to work together regardless,” Abdelaziz said about Usman wanting to stay active and Covington not deserving a rematch. “We will make it happen. Kamaru called me yesterday, he said June 12, let’s do Michael Chiesa. He asked me who had the longest winning streak in the division in the top five or six, I said Chiesa, he said June 12, (Chiesa) doesn’t have a fight. It doesn’t really matter who. He said let’s do Michael Chiesa, ask the UFC if I can fight on June 12. I told the UFC, Kamaru can fight three more times this year.”
Colby Covington has fought once since he lost by fifth-round TKO to Usman as he scored his own fifth-round TKO over Tyron Woodley. He also holds notable wins over Rafael dos Anjos to win the interim title and Demian Maia.
Kamaru Usman, as mentioned, is coming off the KO win over Masvidal. Prior to that, he scored a TKO win over Gilbert Burns and Covington in his first title defense.
