With the recent news of Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) booking a Welterweight title fight between division champion Tyron Woodley and Darren Till for UFC 228 on Sept. 8, 2018, Kamaru Usman wants to face the odd man out.
Indeed, “The Nigerian Nightmare’s” manager Ali Abdelaziz told ESPN’s Ariel Helwani that his client wants to face off against Colby Covington on the heels of the revelation, as “Chaos” is still the true No. 1 contender in the division.
With Colby Covington getting passed up, Kamaru Usman wants to fight Covington next. According to Usman’s manager Ali Abdelaziz that’s the fight they are pushing for now. “We feel for Colby,” Abdelaziz said, “but he is the guy we need to fight. He is the true No. 1 contender.”
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) July 24, 2018
“With Colby Covington getting passed up, Kamaru Usman wants to fight Covington next. According to Usman’s manager Ali Abdelaziz that’s the fight they are pushing for now. “We feel for Colby,” Abdelaziz said, “but he is the guy we need to fight. He is the true No. 1 contender.”
UFC president Dana White did reveal that as soon as the fight between Woodley and Till begins, Covington will be stripped of his interim champion tag. Shades of Conor McGregor losing his lightweight championship at UFC 223.
Usman and Covington have a bitter history, as the two men came face-to-face during a press conference earlier this year after Kamaru called out the boisterous scrapper for hiding behind his phone when confronted.
The usually-talkative Covington has remained quiet since the news broke of the upcoming 170-pound title fight, but it’s safe to assume he won’t be too happy with the news. As far as Usman’s callout, though it’s a highly intriguing matchup, don’t be too surprised if “Chaos” ultimately opts to wait to face the winner of Woodley vs Till.
An opportunity he earned by claiming the interim title at UFC 225.