Getty Jorge Masvidal & Colby Covington
UFC president Dana White recently shared that the promotion hopes to book Colby Covington against Khamzat Chimaev next year.
White was interviewed by The Mac Life’s Oscar Willis ahead of Saturday’s UFC 280 event in Abu Dhabi, UAE. And at the end of their conversation, Willis shared his take that Covington versus Chimaev should be booked as the co-main event under welterweight champion Leon Edwards’ trilogy match with Kamaru Usman.
Although nothing has been confirmed, it appears the UFC is planning to bring the Octagon back to the United Kingdom in March. And the idea is to have the English champion fight Usman in front of his countrymen – likely in London.
“I agree with you,” White said to Willis. “I’m on it. I’ll get it done.”
Covington hasn’t competed inside the Octagon since his unanimous decision win over Jorge Masvidal in March at UFC 272. On the other end, Chimaev earned a dominant victory against Kevin Holland in a 180-pound catchweight fight last month at UFC 279, catching the Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt in a D’Arce choke.
Covington vs. Chimaev Would Likely Determine the UFC’s Next 170-Pound Title Challenger Behind Usman
“Chaos” is currently ranked No. 2 in the 170-pound division whereas Chimaev sits at No. 3, per the official UFC standings. “Borz” was originally supposed to fight Nate Diaz at welterweight at UFC 279, however he missed weight by around eight pounds. The promotion decided to pair Chimaev with Holland instead, downgrading the Russian-born fighter to the co-main event.
After fight night, it had become unclear if Chimaev would attempt to fight at welterweight again. But with White’s plan, it looks like the 12-0 professional mixed martial artist may try his hand at 170 pounds again.
Edwards Wants to Fight Usman at Wembley Stadium in London
Edwards and Usman are 1-1 against each other, with the latter winning their first contest in 2015 via unanimous and the former picking up a come-from-behind knockout victory in August at UFC 278.
With under a minute left in their fight in Salt Lake City, Utah, “Rocky” landed a head kick on Usman, knocking “The Nigerian Nightmare” out cold. Edwards, Usman and White have all shared their interest in running the trilogy next.
But when Edwards was recently featured on the “Troopz TV” YouTube channel, the Englishman said he wouldn’t fight Usman in the United States. Rocky said he wants their third meeting to be in the United Kingdom, and specifically, he’d love to fight his rival at Wembley Stadium in London.
“It’s in Wembley, bro,” Edwards said (h/t MMA Junkie). “We’re going back to the sites. I’m not going over (to the U.S.) now. I did my job. I went to over to (Usman’s) backyard and took it off him, so now he has to come to my backyard. I’m not going over there again. It’s on my terms now. He has to come over here.”
Edwards also said that the UFC is hoping the welterweight showdown will go down around March. “They said early next year, March-ish,” Edwards continued. “Early next year over here in the U.K. – the stadium show. I think they’re coming to Wembley because it’s probably cold in March. It might be Cardiff (in Wales).”