Colby Covington over idea of Tyron Woodley fight, back to goal of Kamaru Usman rematch

Colby Covington offered to step in and save the day, but now it’s back to his ultimate goal.

After Leon Edwards was forced out of his UFC on ESPN+ 29 headliner against Tyron Woodley due to a travel ban imposed in response to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, an unsung hero answered the call and was willing to save Saturday’s card, before it was ultimately scrapped.

A ban of large gatherings in the U.S. put a halt on Covington’s plans, and the verbally agreed fight with Woodley fell through. The potential matchup with Woodley has been years in the making, but despite Woodley claiming he is diverting his full attention to Covington, “Chaos” has other plans.

“I’m most interested in my rematch with ‘Marty Fakenewsman,’” Covington told MMA Junkie. “We have unfinished business. I mean, that was a fake fight, there was fake fouls called, and there was a fake ref who did a fake stoppage, so you can go back and look at the tapes of my last fight. I was beating ‘Marty Fakenewsman’ for 24 minutes until Marc Goddard saved his life.”

UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman, is rumored to be facing Jorge Masvidal next, but the two are yet to put pen to paper. So in the meantime, Covington is still holding out on the hopes of a potential rematch with Usman.

And if it’s not next for Usman, Covington said he s willing to wait.

“It’s just going to depend on what happens with ‘Marty Fakenewsman,’” Covington said. “I honestly don’t think ‘Journeyman’ Jorge Masvidal, aka ‘Street Judas,’ is going to fight ‘Marty,’ so if ‘Journeyman’ Jorge doesn’t fight ‘Marty,’ then who else is left for him? It’s got to be me and my rematch. This is (expletive). I beat him that fight, and they robbed me. It was clear corruption. It was clear that Marc Goddard was paid off, and we need a level playing field and see what happens.”

With the UFC’s current schedule a bit unclear, Covington is not completely ruling out the possibility of facing Woodley, but he’s making it clear that he’s done chasing that fight. Stepping in on short notice was just an opportunity for him to save the day, in a matchup he’s confident favors him. But that’s not the only possibility on the table when he steps back in  the cage.

“I’m either going to get my rematch with ‘Marty,’ or I’m going to wait to fight the winner of that,” Covington said. “It’s going to be one or the other, and if Woodley wants to get his ass beat in the meantime, too, he can get his ass beat, too, but unless they’re giving me a reasonable offer of what I’m worth, then I’m not going to waste my time with Tyron Woodley. I begged to fight that guy for years.

“I’m not going to chase Tyron Woodley anymore. I was willing to step up to beat his ass in front of the world. I’m not begging and I’m not chasing him anymore. I already know he’s going to run from me.”