When Jorge Masvidal flattened Darren Till in the UFC London main event, he catapulted back into UFC welterweight title contention, and in the eyes of some fans, even usurped Colby Covington’s spot as the next man in line for Kamaru Usman.
Speaking to Yahoo! Sports on Tuesday, UFC President Dana White cleared things up.
He says that, while Jorge Masvidal looked incredible in London, Colby Covington is indeed still the next man in line for a welterweight title shot.
“Masvidal just looked great. He just came off two losses then has a big win over [Darren] Till,” White explained (via MMA News). “When Usman jumped over Colby Covington, he was on a win streak, looked incredible against [Rafael dos Anjos], who I respect.”
Usman’s manager Ali Abdelaziz, however, has stated that Masvidal, not Covington should be in line.
Dana White reminds that Abdelaziz is a manager, not a UFC matchmaker.
“Ali doesn’t make fights, we do,” he said. “So no, yeah, Colby’s getting the next fight.”
Colby Covington and Kamaru Usman currently share one of the most heated rivalries in MMA, so their pairing certainly makes sense for the UFC from a business standpoint. Furthermore, Covington is the former interim champion, and never truly lost that title, which makes his claim to a title shot hard to deny.
Who do you think deserves the next shot at Kamaru Usman?
This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 3/19/2019.