After successfully defending his title in a rematch with Kamaru Usman, reigning UFC welterweight champion Leon Edwards disagrees with the organization’s decision to give the next title shot to second-ranked Colby Covington in the division.
“I don’t see how that makes sense,” the Briton told a press conference after UFC 286. “He hasn’t fought in almost a year and a half. Just sitting around without being injured. I don’t understand how he slipped to a title chance when there are guys in the division who have been fighting all this time, being active and not sitting back. Now I am king. I deserve it and I feel like I have to decide who will be next.”
According to Edwards, he prefers to fight Jorge Masvidal if the American manages to defeat Brazilian Gilbert Burns on April 8 at UFC 287 in Miami.
“If Masvidal beats Burns, it will be the perfect fight in terms of pay-per-view sales. I just don’t understand how Colby sits out injury free for over a year and gets a title shot. I spent 12 fights to get to this point. When I tried to get a title shot, Colby was like, ‘Who is this? I have no idea who it’ and now I’m the king”
“I have a personal grudge against Masvidal and I feel like we need to sort this out. We have a story to finish. If he does his job, I will consider this possibility. If he begs me, I’ll give him a chance.”
Recall that in March 2019, there was a skirmish between the fighters backstage at the UFC Fight Night 147 tournament in London, during which Edwards received a serious cut, and in 2021 Masvidal was injured and dropped out of the duel with the Briton.
Source: https://fighttime.ru/news/item/31078-leon-edvards-otkazyvaetsya-dratsya-s-kolbi-kovingtonom.html?rand=19907
