Three days after successfully defending his title against Kamaru Usman, Leon Edwards has not changed his position regarding the next bout he will participate in. The reigning welterweight champion simply cannot wrap his head around the fact of how come Colby Covington deserves to be his opponent when he defends his belt for the second time.
At the post-fight press conference for UFC 286, UFC president Dana White declared that Colby Covington will get another shot at the title in his next fight. Earlier, at the O2 Arena in London, United Kingdom, Rocky, and The Nigerian Nightmare fought for the third time. After a split decision victory, defending champion Edwards was able to retain his welterweight belt from challenger Usman.
Dana appears to be rather certain in his decision of Rocky’s next opponent, but the British boxer does not appear to be thrilled with the choice. The 31-year-old defending champion immediately in the post-fight interview expressed his doubts about facing the American fighter next.
In a recent interview with Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour, Rocky still thinks Colby does not deserve a shot at the title. The Brit thinks there should be a certain path a fighter should follow to get the taste of ultimate glory. Chaos was defeated by Usman twice hence it simply can not make sense that he gets to fight the fighter who defeated The Nigerian Nightmare twice.
Leon Edwards says that if he is presented with a contract for Colby Covington, he will NOT sign it.
He also says that he will likely have his next fight will be around late summer.
via The MMA Hour pic.twitter.com/rDU1Nxeoza
— Spinnin Backfist (@SpinninBackfist) March 20, 2023
Does Leon Edwards think Colby Covington is getting privileges from Dana White?
Covington last competed at UFC 272, so exactly a year ago. The 35-year-old fighter got the nod over Jorge Masvidal through a unanimous decision. A year of inactivity followed by a surprise appearance at the weigh-in as a backup fighter does not impress Edwards enough for him to consider ‘Chaos’ a title contender.
“Listen, he ain’t getting a title shot next fight. It makes no sense at all. Let’s see how it plays out. He has to go out there and earn his way like I had to do.”
Leon Edwards feels Colby Covington being awarded a title shot would be a product of "Dana White privilege" 😬 #TheMMAHour
"I definitely have a say and he ain’t getting the title shot next fight."
▶️ https://t.co/JcrgzatfWO pic.twitter.com/YUd1MGEceP
— MMA Fighting (@MMAFighting) March 20, 2023
According to Rocky, the former interim welterweight champion is just getting Dana White privilege otherwise there is no reason why he is getting another title shot after failing to succeed twice.
“Khamzat and me were calling each other out for years. This is a guy that I got matched up with three times in a row. I took the [Chimaev] fight and [Covington] didn’t take the fight and he’s getting rewarded for not taking the fight. When it was me, I got removed from the rankings. So ‘Dana White privilege’ is definitely real.” Edwards added.
"(Colby Covington is) getting rewarded for not taking fights. When it was me, I got removed from the rankings. So this Dana White privilege is definitely real."
– Leon Edwards on The MMA Hour pic.twitter.com/cChT6DK6ZE
— Spinnin Backfist (@SpinninBackfist) March 20, 2023
Rocky thinks there is no clear title contender at the moment in the welterweight division. According to the British fighter, everyone is one or two fights away from challenging his throne. If Colby is willing to take the title from him he should do the same.
“Everyone else is fighting and working their way to get to a title shot. So why should he be sitting out for a year not doing nothing and then randomly slide into the title shot? I feel like he should go out there and fight one of the top 5 guys, top 6 guys. And we’ll go from there.” Leon Edwards added.
Do you too believe that Covington needs to accomplish more in order to earn another title shot? Please share your perspective in the comment section.
