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After Colby Covington beat Robbie Lawler at UFC Newark, all signs pointed to him fighting welterweight champion, Kamaru Usman next. Many also expected that fight to be at UFC 244 in Madison Square Garden.
Yet, that is not the case. Instead, negotiations between the two fell apart and the UFC booked Nate Diaz vs. Jorge Masvidal as the main event of the card.
Now, speaking at the UFC 244 press conference, UFC president, Dana White explained why Kamaru Usman vs. Colby Covington did not come to fruition.
“So here’s the thing with that,” White said during the news conference (h/t MMA Junkie). “Obviously, you heard me say in interviews after [Diaz defeated Pettis] that was the fight I was going to make.
“So Colby Covington can say whatever he wants, but we make fights for a living. That’s what we do. We go after guys and we say, ‘This is next. This is the date. Do you want the fight?’ Obviously he wanted more money to fight Usman. We went back and forth.”
Dana White was obviously not pleased he could not get a deal with Colby Covington or Kamaru Usman. But, ‘Chaos’ says he turned it down because it was not a negotiation. Instead, it was a take it or leave it offer, and it was less money then what he was paid against Lawler.
However, according to White, Colby Covington also turned down a Tyron Woodley fight after the Kamaru Usman negotiations hit a snag.
“This is the second time he’s done it,” White said. “He had a fight in Dallas, too. So we said, ‘If you don’t want to fight Usman then we’ll give you Tyron Woodley’. He turned down Tyron Woodley, too. You either want to fight or you don’t. When Colby Covington is willing to fight, he’ll let us know.”
-BJPenn.com
Yet, that is not the case. Instead, negotiations between the two fell apart and the UFC booked Nate Diaz vs. Jorge Masvidal as the main event of the card.
Now, speaking at the UFC 244 press conference, UFC president, Dana White explained why Kamaru Usman vs. Colby Covington did not come to fruition.
“So here’s the thing with that,” White said during the news conference (h/t MMA Junkie). “Obviously, you heard me say in interviews after [Diaz defeated Pettis] that was the fight I was going to make.
“So Colby Covington can say whatever he wants, but we make fights for a living. That’s what we do. We go after guys and we say, ‘This is next. This is the date. Do you want the fight?’ Obviously he wanted more money to fight Usman. We went back and forth.”
Dana White was obviously not pleased he could not get a deal with Colby Covington or Kamaru Usman. But, ‘Chaos’ says he turned it down because it was not a negotiation. Instead, it was a take it or leave it offer, and it was less money then what he was paid against Lawler.
However, according to White, Colby Covington also turned down a Tyron Woodley fight after the Kamaru Usman negotiations hit a snag.
“This is the second time he’s done it,” White said. “He had a fight in Dallas, too. So we said, ‘If you don’t want to fight Usman then we’ll give you Tyron Woodley’. He turned down Tyron Woodley, too. You either want to fight or you don’t. When Colby Covington is willing to fight, he’ll let us know.”
-BJPenn.com
