Following UFC 253 on Saturday night, Dana White told the assembled media that he is targeting a major welterweight grudge match between former friends and training partners Colby Covington and Jorge Masvidal.
It had previously been rumored that Masvidal was being lined for a rematch with Nate Diaz, but that idea now appears to be firmly on the backburner.
“It’s very possible (Masivdal vs. Covington) is next,” White said.
“… I don’t know if we’ve even talked to Nate yet. But yeah, after the Colby fight [against Tyron Woodley], how do you not make that fight? That’s the fight that makes sense.”
That being said, White isn’t opposed to the Diaz fight happening in the future.
“The Nate Diaz rematch is going to be there no matter what happens,” White acknowledged.
While Diaz likely won’t be happy with the latest development it does make sense. After all, Masvidal did handily beat him in their ‘BMF’ title fight, even if the doctor’s stoppage was somewhat controversial.
Meanwhile, there’s been deep-rooted bad blood between Covington and Masvidal for some time now, and with ‘Chaos’ turning in a dominant display against Woodley, this is as good a time as any to set up this showdown, and potentially pave the way for a rematch with current champion Kamaru Usman.
