welterweight champion Leon Edwards silenced his doubters at UFC 286 on Saturday night by beating Kamaru Usman to successfully defend the belt, and while Dana White now expects him to fight Colby Covington next, it doesn’t seem to be a match-up he’s keen on.
“I don’t know when we’ll do it, but yeah, that’s the fight [Edwards vs. Covington] that makes sense,” White told reporters following UFC 286. “And Colby came here [as the back-up fighter], cut weight, and did everything to be here for this fight. He deserves the fight.
“Not to mention the fact that he’s the second or third-best guy in the world.”
However, Edwards, who has now gone 12 fights unbeaten, sees things differently.
“I don’t know how that makes sense,” Edwards told the media in his own post-fight media scrum. “You haven’t fought for over a year and a half sat out, not injured. I just don’t get how he just slides in for the world title shot, when there are other guys in the division that’s been active, been fighting, didn’t sit out.
“Like I said, I’m the king now. I’ve earned my way so I feel like I should decide who’s next.”
And Edwards is also looking to close the door on a potential fourth fight with Usman at some stage in the future too, after emerging victorious in two of their three bouts.
“Probably not. Probably not,” Edwards said of fighting Usman for a fourth time. “It’s been three fights now. I want to move forward in my career. I look toward different fights.”
“I wish him well in whatever he chooses to do next,” Edwards continued. “There was never no beef between me and Kamaru. We both just fought to see who the better man is. That was it. You heard his words after the fight, and I wish him well. This sport is hard, so yeah – respect to him.”
So, who does Edwards want next? It seems like he’s holding out hope that he can settle an old rivalry with Jorge Masvidal, who infamously hit him backstage in London at UFC Fight Night 47 in 2019.
“If we are going pay-per-view wise, if Masvidal beats [Gilbert] Burns then that’s the fight to make,” Edwards said.
From a story-line perspective it certainly makes the most sense, but Masvidal is currently only ranked No.11 in the division after losing three fights in a row, with the last one being against the aforementioned Colby Covington.
And Masvidal’s upcoming fight against Burns at UFC 287 in three weeks time looks like a tough stylistic match-up for him, and as such he’s currently a heavy underdog.
