Colby Covington shares date for title fight, unsure Usman will be involved

Colby Covington is claiming he will fight for the UFC welterweight title in November, when the UFC returns to New York City’s hallowed Madison Square Garden. However, he’s not sure if the reigning champion Kamaru Usman will be involved.

In fact, Covington believes the UFC would have every right to strip Usman of his title if he’s not ready to fight by November.

“Absolutely,” Covington told Helen Yee about Usman potentially being stripped (transcript via MMA Mania). “November will be eight or nine months since he’s fought. How much more time does he need? He’s just pushing it back, pushing it back, trying to negotiate and not fight. He was never injured in the first place. He’s using Woodley tactics. He’s Woodley 2.0.”

If Kamaru Usman is stripped of the welterweight title, Colby Covington envisions himself fighting Ben Askren or Jorge Masvidal for the vacant throne.

“I will be fighting for the world championship in the Garden,” Covington said. “I don’t know if it will be against [Usman]. It could be him, it could be my best friend, Jorge Masvidal, or it could be Ben Askren. Who knows what it’s going to be? But it will be for the undisputed championship in November.”

Masvidal and Askren will do battle at UFC 239 on July 6. As Covington says, Masvidal is his best friend.

That being said, the two buddies are more than willing to fight each other for that right price and prize. 

“We were talking about this at least four or five years ago,” Colby Covington said recently on BJPenn.com Radio. “I mean, we talked about it. That’s the epitome of a friends relationship, to be able to go for the highest honor in the sport that you chose to fight for the number one and two spot in the world. I mean, it would be an honor to fight each other. It’d be a dream come true for us both because we’re both going to make so much money. Dude, we’re fighting fucking, sparring hundreds of rounds for free in American top team.

“I mean, now we’re going to get paid $500 million,” he continued. “That’s an easy no brainer. I mean, it wouldn’t even be hard to fight him, dude. Friendship aside, this is business. We’re both here to do business. I want to put food on the table for my mom. She’s got a tough upbringing, tough life. I want to get my family what they never had growing up. I grew up in the trailer parks, Jason. I didn’t have a good upbringing. It was a tough upbringing. I was on the Top Ramen diet. That was my diet growing up, Top Ramen three times a day. Pork in the morning, chicken in the afternoon and beef at night. That was my diet. I’ll fight anybody. I don’t give a f**k who’s in front of me. I got no friends in my weight class. Yeah [Masvidal and I are] best friends right now, but as soon as the lights turn on and we’re in the big city, man, there’s no friends. I’m here to do business.”

Do you think we’ll see Colby Covington fighting for the welterweight title in November?

This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 6/14/2019.