UFC welterweight champion Leon Edwards can possibly defend his title against Colby Covington at UFC 295 which is going to happen at the Madison Square Garden on November 11, 2023.
UFC president Dana White has disclosed that Edwards is likely to fight before the end of the year. “Could play out to possibly fight at MSG,” said Dana White to Adam Catterall.
Now, White did not clearly mention the opponent for the reigning champion. However, one can get an idea from the fact that Covington was the backup fighter for Leon Edwards vs. Kamaru Usman at UFC 286. So, now that ‘Rocky’ has got the better of the former UFC champion, maybe it is time for Colby to get a shot at the title.
MMA fans are not too happy with this decision of the promotion as they think there are many other fighters in the welterweight division who deserve the title shot more than Colby does.
It is seriously laughable that Colby is getting a 3rd title shot after 1 win against over the hill/overrated masvidal.
— S Khan (@Teslashock23) July 8, 2023
Colby Covington is known for his press conferences and controversial statements. Fans are also excited about that.
I’m waiting for a press conference pic.twitter.com/NL8ZGqrENS
— Anurag Tiwari 🇮🇳 (@anuragtiwari703) July 8, 2023
A Twitter user said that welterweight fighter Belal Muhammad should have been the contender for the title shot.
I thought what’s his name was supposed to fight him? pic.twitter.com/oflgWETvEU
— TheUFCCasual (@TheUFCCasual1) July 8, 2023
MMA fans have been doubtful about Colby Covington receiving the title shot for a long time now. Even before when there were rumors about Edwards facing ‘Chaos’ at UFC 286, the reaction was pretty much the same.
I am done as a mma fan
— Doctor MMA (@FightDoctor_) March 19, 2023
The lightweight champion Islam Makhachev recently challenged Leon Edwards for a champion vs champion fight at the UFC 294.
However, the promotion has already finalized the events for the main and co-main fights in Abu Dhabi. Dana White recently announced on his official Instagram account that the Dagestani fighter’s next challenge would be a rematch against Charles Oliveira.
Colby Covington says Leon Edwards refused to fight him
Colby Covington has recently disclosed the fact that Leon Edwards had refused to fight him in July, this year. ‘Chaos’ said that UFC boss Dana White was planning to change the event in the O2 Arena, London from an ESPN Fight Night to a PPV event. The main event was supposed to be the welterweight title shot between Edwards and Covington.
However, ‘Rocky’ refused the fight and suggested the fight be moved to UFC 294 in Abu Dhabi. Covington himself shared that this was not possible as the promotion had already other fights in mind.
Edwards last fought on March 2023 against the former champion Kamaru Usman at UFC 286. He registered his first-ever title defense in this fight in London.
Colby Covington, on the other hand, has not been inside the Octagon since March 2022. His last fight was against his former training partner Jorge Masvidal which he won by a unanimous decision.
Being a historic venue, Madison Square Garden in New York has always seen some brilliant main and co-main events. This might also be a blockbuster event as Jon Jones vs Stipe Miocic will be fighting for the heavyweight title shot whereas Leon Edwards and Colby Covington might be fighting for the welterweight title bout which is yet to be confirmed by UFC.
