UFC welterweight contender Colby Covington has provided an update on the planned date for his championship rematch against Kamaru Usman.
The pair first met towards the back end of 2019. In a losing effort, Covington took Usman into the final round and gave the champion his biggest UFC test to date. In the end, despite the American’s complaints about Marc Goddard’s stoppage, Usman finished Covington with less than a minute of the headlining fight remaining.
Having toppled Tyron Woodley, defended his title four times, remained unbeaten in 14 UFC bouts, and built an 18-fight winning streak, the 34-year-old is on the lookout for the next challenger to his dominant reign.
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But despite their competitive first meeting inside the Octagon, Usman has repeatedly claimed that Covington isn’t deserving of another title shot, having had just one fight since they fought in 2019.
Nevertheless, with Dana White confirming him to be next in line, “Chaos” is confident of securing the title fight once the champ “stops hiding” from him. In an interview with “Combat Sports on Fanatics View,” Covington suggested that Usman traveled to Africa in order to avoid setting up their rematch.
“I’ve got a huge world title fight coming up when Marty Fakenewsman and Marty Juiceman stops hiding from me, running off the grid to Africa, acting like he’s going there to be with his countrypeople. No, he’s going there to get a photo op and to be off the grid so he doesn’t have to answer Dana and Hunter Campbell’s calls when they’re calling to get this deal done with Colby ‘Chaos’ Covington round two!”
But despite Usman’s objections, and the case for Leon Edwards to be next in line, Covington revealed the UFC is targeting a fall date for the blockbuster rematch.
“The latest I heard was some time in October or November. It’s gonna happen. There’s no doubt about it. They’re just trying to figure out which pay-per-view they’re trying to line it up for.”
While Covington has entered the Octagon just once since their first fight, against the now released Tyron Woodley, Usman has defended his 170-pound gold three times. A five-round victory over Jorge Masvidal in 2020 was followed by dominant knockout wins against Gilbert Burns and, most recently, “Gamebred” once again.
After their close battle in 2019, many have suggested Covington is the man who can become the first to have his arm raised against the Nigerian in the UFC. With the latest update on the targeted rematch, it seems we’ll have an answer to that statement soon enough.
Do you think Colby Covington can dethrone the welterweight king Kamaru Usman in their rematch?