Leon Edwards confirms plan to defend UFC title against Colby Covington

08 July 2023 , 15:45

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Leon Edwards confirms plan to defend UFC title against Colby Covington

UFC welterweight champion Leon Edwards will make his second defence of his title later this year against Colby Covington, with two potential dates locked in.

The Brit was frustrated about having to defend against Covington, who hasn't fought in over a year and is 2-2 since the middle of 2019 - and would have preferred to face a more active contender. But he has been convinced, and will face the controversial American either in Abu Dhabi at UFC 294 or in the co-main event of UFC 295 in New York.

Edwards won his world title from the seemingly unbeatable Kamaru Usman, who has twice defeated Covington, in August of last year with a stunning knockout in Utah. But arguably more impressive was his decision victory at London's O2 Arena in March when the pair immediately rematched.

“I’m good, I’m back training now,” Edwards told ESPN. “I’m back in the gym, my body’s feeling good, hoping to get back in there in October of November. I think Colby [Covington] is going to be the opponent, so it’s all good. For me, [I’d rather the fight take place in] Abu Dhabi – because it’s closer to home.

“But also, New York – Madison Square Garden is like a legendary arena, right? So it will be good to do that as well so – to be fair, either or. There’s a big Jamaican population in New York, so I’d love to do that as well. Either one would be good for me.”

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Leon Edwards will face Colby Covington later this year (Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)

Promoter Dana White has indicated that the bout could take place in New York, but wasn't keen to get too deep into the topic during a Power Slap event last night. The Madison Square Garden event will be headlined by one of the biggest fights in the sport's history when Jon Jones defends his heavyweight title against the legendary Stipe Miocic.

"That could happen," he said of a potential Edwards and Covington fight happening as the co-main event in New York. "There's a lot of options, I don't want to talk tonight about potential UFC shit, we could be here all f***ing night talking about that but yes that does have potential."

The date for the New York event was not confirmed last night when UFC boss Dana White announced the fight, but their November pay-per-view always happens on the second Saturday of the month meaning it will be November 11. Last year's card was headlined by Israel Adesanya vs Alex Pereira.

Donagh Corby