Despite Dana White‘s approval, there seems to be a common narrative among Colby Covington’s fellow welterweights. ‘Covington does not deserve to fight for the title next.’ The latest person to echo this sentiment? Former title contender and grappling standout Gilbert Burns.

A former interim title holder, Covington is considered one of the strongest wrestlers to embrace the sport of MMA. Ever since his UFC debut in 2018, the fighter has racked up wins over some big names, including Tyron Woodley, Rafael dos Anjos, Robbie Lawler, and Demian Maia. In his last bout, Covington is coming off a win over former BMF title champion Jorge Masvidal. An impressive resume, nonetheless. So why does Burns not seem to be impressed?

Colby Covington, not a worthy contender for the title next, according to Gilbert Burns

In his recent interview with ‘Middle Easy’, Gilbert Burns opened up on his opinion of a possible title fight between Colby Covington and Leon Edwards. According to the Brazilian, Covington does not deserve to fight for the title next. Instead of ‘Chaos,’ Burns suggests Belal Muhammad from Team Khabib as the more deserving candidate. But despite his belief, ‘Durinho’ believes UFC will pit Covington against current champion Edwards next.

This statement came in response to the question inquiring about the former title challenger’s opinion on the next contender for the UFC’s 170 lb title. To which Burns answered: “I don’t think Colby deserves, but yeah, Belal is the next one, there we go. I don’t know, I don’t know. I still think the UFC is going to make Colby against Leon even though he doesn’t deserve it, but they’re still going to do it.”

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For those unaware, Colby Covington has already fought for the title twice against former champion Kamaru Usman. However, he came up short on both occasions. Since his last title shot, Covington has fought only once against Jorge Masvidal. In comparison, Muhammad is currently on a five-fight win streak, beating Burns in their last encounter. This probably explains why Burns believes that ‘Remember the Name’ deserves a title shot more than ‘Chaos.’

After Dana White, Leon Edwards’ manager confirms Colby Covington’s title shot

After Dana White claimed Colby Covington to be the next title contender, Leon Edwards’ manager, Tim Simpson, has spoken on the matter. According to him, his client will defend his title next against the former interim champion by the end of this year. Although he didn’t have an official date, Simpson believes the fight will be sometime in November or December.

If speculations are to be believed, the two welterweights will lock horns in the main event of UFC 296 at Madison Square Garden. Earlier, the fight was believed to be scheduled for UFC 295, but that card will now be headlined by Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic. This would be special, as Madison Square Garden is considered the Mecca of combat sports. UFC 296 will mark UFC’s comeback to MSG after a three-decade-long interval.

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