Colby Covington says Dana White has assured him of the next welterweight title shot and claims he’s already signed the contract.
“Chaos” says with or without Kamaru Usman, he’ll be fighting for the 170lb gold next. This comes after the champion stated he would rematch Covington, but only when he sees fit.
The pair first met back at UFC 245 in what was the toughest test to Usman’s championship reign to date.
After a hard-fought and competitive four rounds, the champion defended his belt with a final-minute TKO stoppage. It was a classic headliner, the memories of which are enough to make a rematch an intriguing prospect.
“The Nigerian Nightmare” recently claimed he wants to see more activity from the former interim champion to warrant another title shot.
Speaking to The Schmo, Colby Covington said whether Usman likes it or not, the contract is already signed.
“They know the contract’s been offered to me. I’ve already signed the contract. We just figured out the date. And I don’t even know if it’s gonna be Marty Juiceman. Maybe he’s gonna retire and run off into the sunset because he knows I’m gonna take his health. So he’d rather just go retire as the champion, the fake champion, because he didn’t win it. It was a lot of controversy in our first fight.”
Covington has long-claimed Usman has been “ducking” a second fight between the two. The 33-year-old suggested the Nigerian would rather fight Jorge Masvidal for a third time than enter the Octagon with him again.
After confirming Dana White’s stance on the welterweight title scene, Covington went on to state it doesn’t matter who it’s against, he’s fighting for the championship.
“You can’t claim to be the best in the world when you’re faking nut shots, faking eye pokes, taking timeouts, hitting me in the back of the head and getting an early stoppage when I stood right up and protested. So if he wants to be a coward and run away in the sunset with his little fake paper title he’s got, then cool. Do it. But I’m fighting for the UFC world title next. Dana White clarified it. He doubled down. He said it again the other day. So it doesn’t matter if it’s gonna be Marty or if it’s gonna be the next guy in line, but I am fighting for the title soon.”
Covington recently said that the UFC may have to force Usman’s hand for the rematch to take place. If this latest claim of a guaranteed title shot non-dependant of Usman is true, that may be exactly what the promotion is prepared to do.
How do you think a rematch between Usman and Covington would play out?