Dana White responds to criticism over awarding Colby Covington a title shot against Leon Edwards

Dana White has defended his decision to name Colby Covington as the next challenger for Leon Edwards’ UFC Welterweight Championship.

After Edwards defended his title for the first time with a majority decision win to conclude his trilogy with divisional great Kamaru Usman, White announced that Rocky would next face former interim champion Covington.

Rocky later explained that he didn’t understand the rationale behind White’s decision and asserted that he had earned the right to decide who he would fight next.

Despite this, White doubled down on matchup, and insisted that Covington would be the current champion if Usman did not exist.

‘That was a no brainer,’ White told reporters of his decision to book Covington against Edwards. ‘If Usman doesn’t exist Colby’s been the champ now for a while.’

Dana White has defended decision to award Colby Covington the next welterweight title shot

The former All-American collegiate wrestler established himself as one of the most dominant contenders in the 170 lbs weight class during the latter part of the 2010s, but hasn’t fought since March of last year.

At UFC 272 the 35-year-old defeated former training partner Jorge Masvidal in a grudge match, with Gamebred later allegedly assaulting Chaos outside a restaurant leaving with multiple injuries.

Covington weighed-in as a backup fighter for Edwards vs Usman III earlier this month and the UFC president noted his willingness to step in as one of the reasons he would be awarded the next title shot.

Covington returned from a 12-month hiatus to weigh-in as a backup fighter for UFC 286

But after emerging victorious at the event Leon Edwards asserted he earned the right to choose his next defence

‘He cut the weight, he showed up to fill in for that fight and there’s a million other reasons why he deserves that fight.’

However, despite earning plaudits for his performances against Usman while coming up short in championship fights, Covington has fought just six times in the last five years.

As a result, the California-born wrestler does not currently hold any wins over fighters ranked in the top ten of the UFC’s welterweight division.