Despite Major Pushback From the Champ, Dana White Forces Colby Covington Fight Against Leon Edwards as President Sets the Ball Rolling On Serious UFC 295 Plans

The much-awaited welterweight championship now has a date. Sources claim that Leon Edwards will defend his title against Colby Covington in the co-main event of UFC 295. It will also be UFC’s 30th-anniversary show, headlined by Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic for the heavyweight title.

Recently, Khamzat Chimaev and Islam Makhachev called out Leon Edwards for a fight at UFC 294 in Abu Dhabi. However, Dana White dropped the announcement that Makhachev will fight Charles Oliveira in a rematch in Abu Dhabi, while Chimaev will face Paulo Costa on the same card. Meanwhile, Colby Covington will remain the next welterweight title contender.

Leon Edwards vs Colby Covington for UFC 295

The UFC will return to Madison Square Garden for their UFC 295 pay-per-view on November 11. According to Adam Catterall, Dana White, and the UFC are working to hold the welterweight bout between Colby Covington and Leon Edwards on their 30th anniversary show. The card will also feature Jon Jones taking on Stipe Miocic for the heavyweight title.

While the Jones vs. Miocic fight will be the headliner, Edwards, and Covington will battle it out in the co-main event of the night. Catterall tweeted recently, “Dana White told me they’re working on Leon Edwards v Colby Covington for MSG in November.” Although it has not been totally confirmed, there are more chances that the fight will take place in November. But ‘Rocky’ was not a fan of this fight when the UFC president chose Covington as his next opponent.

Welterweight champ not sold on Covington’s title shot

Colby Covington has two wins and two losses in his last four UFC fights. However, he chose to be the backup fighter for the UFC 286 headliner between Leon Edwards and Kamaru Usman on short notice. As a result, Dana White announced during the post-fight pressers that ‘Chaos’ will be the next in line to challenge Edwards for the title. This left an unpleasant taste in the British fighter’s mouth.

Leon Edwards did not understand how Covington getting a chance at the title made sense. He mentioned how the former interim champion had been inactive for over a year and a half. Besides, ‘Rocky’ believes there are more deserving contenders in the division who could have fought for the title.

READ MORE: Questioning Jon Jones’ Ability to “Sellout” Madison Square Garden, Colby Covington vs Leon Edwards Proposed to Co-main UFC 295 by Chael Sonnen

Regardless of how fighters feel about the matchmaking, the welterweight title bout looks set to take place at the world’s greatest arena in November. It will be Edwards’ second fight and title defense of the year. We will have to wait and see how that pans out for the 31-year-old. He is already on an 11-fight winning streak and would hope to continue that in his upcoming fight.

WATCH THIS STORY: Conor McGregor Meets Wonderboy At TUF Training