Dana White discusses delay booking Colby Covington’s next fight

UFC President Dana White has shed some light on the difficulties he’s had getting former welterweight title challenger Colby Covington back into the cage.

Covington has not competed since he challenged Kamaru Usman for the welterweight strap back in December—a fight he lost by fifth-round TKO.

Since then, Covington has expressed interest in fights with Tyron Woodley and Jorge Masvidal, and in a rematch with Usman.

As of yet, however, the outspoken welterweight is still without a fight.

Speaking on The Schmozone with The Schmo and Helen Yee, White opened up on the stalled negotiations for the next Colby Covington appearance. He implied that while Covington has given the impression that he’s wiling to fight in public, he’s been more difficult to deal with behind the scenes.

“I told you, you hear a lot of things publicly, but then you see the reality, whether the fights happen or not,” White said of Covington. “You get a lot of chatter and a lot of noise, but one of things you should know by now about me is that guys have deals, I try to get fights done.”

White continued, comparing Covington other fighters he claims were difficult to work with, such as Brock Lesnar and Tito Ortiz.

“I’ve dealt with the toughest guys in the business from the Brock Lesnar’s to the Tito Ortiz’s,” he said. “You name it. The guys that are the tough ones deal with, and I’ve always gotten fights done. So, when you see someone talking publicly and the fight doesn’t happen… ”

While Covington doesn’t currently have a fight booked, Woodley recently claimed he accepted a fight with his long-time rival. As of yet, it’s not clear if Covington has accepted this offer.

“They offered me that fight, I told them I’m in. I mean, I just don’t want to talk a lot about Colby because Colby is an actor, man. I know what he is doing and it makes sense and it’s kind of fun to watch,” Woodley told ESPN. “But, at the end of the day, Colby has turned me down five or six times. After losing two fights back-to-back it may be a time he may accept it because he may think I’m down and out.”

Who do you want to see Covington fight next?