UFC President Dana White has suggested that welterweight champion Leon Edwards could fight before the end of the year at Madison Square Garden, possibly against Colby Covington, despite initial resistance from Edwards to Covington as an opponent.
Leon Edwards, the UFC welterweight champ, may participate in the organization’s return to Madison Square Garden at UFC 295. According to UFC President Dana White in a conversation with TNT Sports, Edwards is scheduled to definitely appear “before the end of the year”. He further hinted at the possibility of Edwards’ involvement in a fight at Madison Square Garden.
Despite not explicitly mentioning the potential opponent for Edwards, White hinted at Colby Covington, who earned the title opportunity by being the backup fighter for Edwards’s rematch with Kamaru Usman at UFC 286. There was speculation that the Edwards vs. Covington fight would take place at UFC London, hosted at London’s The O2. However, Edwards has since declined this idea, instead aiming for a return in the autumn.
Edwards initially dismissed Covington as an opponent, asserting that the two-time welterweight champion didn’t deserve a title fight for his belt. However, Edwards’ representative later suggested that Edwards would not “die on the hill” to make an alternative contender, such as the up-and-coming Belal Muhammad his next challenge. Edwards had previously mentioned UFC 294 in Abu Dhabi as the potential venue for his next fight. Despite the existing schedule for events up until that month, Dana White noted that there were still open slots on the November pay-per-view card, fronted by a heavyweight title fight between current champ Jon Jones and ex-champ Stipe Miocic.
Four months ago, Edwards secured a decision win over Kamaru Usman in a rematch of his title-winning knockout of the ex-champ in August 2022 at UFC 286. Covington’s last fight was a decision win over his former friend and training partner Jorge Masvidal at UFC 272 in March 2022. This win was followed by an alleged assault on Covington by Masvidal in a restaurant, sparking a criminal case that is still pending.