Dana White queues up Colby Covington rematch for Kamaru Usman’s next fight
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A time table hasn’t been set, but go ahead and start planning on plenty of drama for Kamaru Usman’s next title fight.
UFC president Dana White told MMA Junkie after UFC 261 on Saturday that Usman’s arch rival Colby Covington (16-2 MMA, 11-2 UFC) will be the champion’s next welterweight title defense. Usman (19-1 MMA, 14-0 UFC) beat Covington with a fifth-round TKO at UFC 245 in December 2019.
Saturday, Usman stopped another rival, Jorge Masvidal (35-15 MMA, 12-8 UFC), with a vicious second-round knockout in a main event rematch. Now White says both he and Usman agree Covington is next in the queue.
“It’s the fight to make,” White said. “He’s the No. 1 (contender) in the world. Usman’s thing was, he didn’t want him to be the backup. He’s like, ‘I want Masvidal, then I want a camp, then I’ll take (Covington) again. I’m going to start lapping these guys.'”
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Usman’s win over Masvidal made him 14-0 to start his UFC career. White thinks the 170-pound champ could very well be on his way to becoming the greatest welterweight in history – a title most currently place on Georges St-Pierre.
White said beating Masvidal twice, and the prospect of beating Covington twice will just bolster Usman’s case that he’s the best in the world.
“For him, to really cement your legacy, when you go in and you beat the guys who are looked at as the best in the world at that time, and you beat them twice, and you beat them convincingly, it’s all just part of cementing that legacy that this guy’s going to end up having some day,” White said.
Covington said on ESPN’s post-fight show that Usman’s win over Masvidal was nothing to be proud of. But then again, Covington might have more beef with Masvidal than he does with Usman.
“That guy is a journeyman,” Covington said. “What’s he got: 15, 20 losses on his record? You shouldn’t be happy or praising yourself for beating a journeyman like that. There’s a reason he’s a backstabber. He’s a street Judas. He’s a bum. If I lost the next 12 fights in a row, I’d still have a better record than journeyman Masvidal.”
He also said his second fight with the champ will be a lot different than their first time around, which was a competitive fight until Usman got the late stoppage.
“He knows he can’t take me down,” Covington said. “I’m going to take him down into deep waters. I’m going to take him down and I’m going to finish him. There are no more fake nut shots next time. … I have new coaches now. I have a new team behind me. Before, there was so much drama at my old gym. People were screaming at me. I couldn’t get my training time in. Now, I have Daniel Valverde (and) Cesar Carneiro over at MMA Masters.
“We’re getting better every single day. My striking is on a whole other level. What has to go different is I have to put a higher pace on him next time. I didn’t put enough pace on him last time and just keep my hands up. I know I’m going to get my hand raised when I fight him.”
But no matter what goes down in the Usman-Covington rematch, whenever it might take place, White thinks his welterweight champ already is one of the greats.
The boos Usman got at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Fla., had a lot to do with the Florida crowd backing Miami resident Masvidal.
“No matter how you feel, the guy is getting booed in there tonight, (but) he’s one of the best ever,” White said. “He’s on his way to probably being the greatest of all time. I mean, the guy is an absolute stud. He looks better every time he comes out.
“These people talk about him being boring. You’re an idiot. You’re an idiot if you think this guy is boring. He hasn’t been in a boring fight in a while.”
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