Colby Covington’s UFC title shot claim laughable, says Leon Edwards – ‘you got knocked out by a wrestler’
- ‘If it was a close fight [vs Kamaru Usman] I could understand your argument, but you just got battered,’ says Edwards
- ‘Rocky’ says he’s ‘not really’ interested in fighting outspoken Covington because it won’t get him a shot at welterweight champ
Leon Edwards believes he’s earned a crack at UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman, but would be willing to fight Gilbert Burns or Jorge Masvidal first to assert himself as the No 1 contender. He does not feel the same way about a potential fight with outspoken welterweight contender Colby Covington.
Covington (15-2) is ranked one spot above Edwards (18-3) in the official UFC rankings, at No 2, but Edwards doesn’t believe a win over the American would be particularly valuable at this stage.
“No, not really,” Edwards told SCMP MMA when asked if he’d be willing to fight Covington. “Not at the moment. Not really. I don’t think beating Colby will get me a title shot. I think beating Masvidal would get me a title shot. I think beating Gilbert would get me a title shot.”
While Edwards isn’t particularly interested in fighting Covington at the moment, he concedes that he’ll fight whoever he needs to beat to earn his long-desired title opportunity.
“Just tell me who I’ve got to beat, and when and where, and I’ll show up,” he said. “I haven’t fought now for over a year, so just tell me who I’ve got to beat, when I’ve got to beat them, and give me a title shot. That’s all I really care about.”
