Colby Covington explains what it takes for him to accept fight with Leon Edwards

UFC welterweight contender Colby Covington explained what it would take for him to accept a fight against divisional rival Leon Edwards.

Edwards recently returned from a 20-month layoff when he took on Belal Muhammad in the main event of this past weekend’s UFC Vegas 21 card. However, the fight ended in disappointing fashion early in the second round after Edwards accidentally poked Muhammad in the eye and he couldn’t continue to fight. In the wake of the No Contest, Edwards has said that he wants a title shot next. But with champion Kamaru Usman and Jorge Masvidal set to rematch this fall, it seems likely that Edwards will have to fight again.

Running it back with Muhammad once his eye heals up is certainly an option for Edwards, but another option would be a fresh fight against Covington, with the winner securing the role of No. 1 contender at 170lbs. With Covington coming off of a TKO win over Tyron Woodley in his last fight, and with Edwards being unbeaten over his last nine fights, a matchup between these two makes all sorts of sense when it comes to the division. Speaking to Submission Radio, Covington said that if the UFC compensates him properly, he would take the Edwards fight, even though he thinks Edwards needs to get a win first.

.@ColbyCovMMA says Leon Edwards fight is possible under the right terms from the UFC:

“Yeah, definitely. They know what they can do. They know what they can do to get me to show up for that fight. But I'm not showing up for charity, guys.”

🎥: https://t.co/lxEhceDnW7 pic.twitter.com/Zvfs9a6Nxt

— Submission Radio (@SubmissionRadio) March 15, 2021

“Yeah, definitely. They know what they can do, man. They know what they can do to get me to show up for that fight. But I’m not showing up for charity, guys,” Covington said.

“The guy still hasn’t won in two years. A No Contest, that’s not a win, that’s not a fight. You need to come back and get a win. He needs to rematch that Bailey guy, they need to fight again,” Covington added. “That Bailey guy (Muhammad) was talking all reckless all week, saying, ‘Oh Colby, if I saw that guy on the streets, I’d slap him, I’d do this.’ Bro, are you kidding me? Dustin Poirier and Jorge Masvidal said the same thing. ‘Oh, it’s on sight, I’m going to smack Colby when I see him in the streets.’ But then when they see me it’s head down. Pipe down little boy. These little boys, they talk reckless in the media, but then when they see each other it’s not the same energy, it’s a different energy. So these guys are talking reckless out there. Re-run that Leon fight vs. Bailey because nobody gives a sh*t about it, nobody wants to watch that hot garbage. The only fight to make is me vs. Marty Fakenewsman or maybe me vs. Street Judas Masvidal.”

As Edwards took very little damage against Muhammad since the fight didn’t go very long, it’s possible the UFC will look to turn the Brit back around quickly. If the promotion makes it worth his time financially for Covington, then perhaps we will have our next No. 1 contender fight in the welterweight division booked soon.

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