The welterweight title will be on the line in the UFC 261
main event on Saturday, and Colby
Covington figures to be an interested observer when Kamaru
Usman defends his belt in a rematch against Jorge
Masvidal at Vystar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville,
Florida.
Another rematch could be in store if Usman is victorious. “The
Nigerian Nightmare” defeated Covington via fifth-round TKO in the
UFC 245 headliner, and UFC president Dana White recently told
TSN that a second meeting between the two is likely, provided
Usman beats Masvidal.
“He’s at a point in his career now where he’s looking at who’s next
again,” White said of Usman. “He’s coming back and going to be
facing guys that he already beat. Obviously, Masvidal took that
fight on short notice so let’s give him this fight, and we can do
away with all the excuses. Then, Colby
Covington’s next.
“Who knows. Anything can happen. Guys get injured, things happen,
timing. Who knows, especially in this day and age but that should
be the fight that happens next.”
The first meeting between the two was a top contender for 2019
“Fight of the Year.” Since then, Usman has been impressive in title
defenses against Gilbert
Burns and Masvidal, while Covington rebounded to score a
dominant win over ex-champ Tyron
Woodley in September.
“I just think that if you look at what this guy’s (Usman) done,
every time he fights, he looks better and better,” White said.
“He’s literally fought everybody out there. Now he’s going for a
second run on these guys and the fight with him and Colby
Covington’s one of the best fights I’ve ever seen.
“The division is stacked with killers right now. The fight with him
and Colby
Covington, love him or hate him or whatever your deal is with
him, is one of the best fighters in the world. Very, very good
fighter and that fight was incredible. Both guys had to dig deep.
It’s one of the best fights I’ve ever seen. Ever.”
If Masvidal wins at UFC 261, a fight with Covington also has some
intrigue due to the two fighters’ past together at American Top
Team and more recent feud.