Colby Covington: Jorge Masvidal, Kamaru Usman my only options with Tyron Woodley off table

For Colby Covington, there are only two guys he’s willing to fight next, otherwise he’ll just keep waiting.

After angling for a fight with Tyron Woodley, even offering to step in on days’ notice to face him in March, that fight is now off the table as Woodley is expected to face Gilbert Burns on an upcoming UFC card.

So Covington (15-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC) is now focused on either running things back with UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman, whom he lost to last December, or friend-turned-foe Jorge Masvidal.

“I came out tweeting, saying that I was willing to fight Tyron Woodley on six days’ notice, and I held true to that,” Covington told ESPN. “I was ready to go. I told the UFC (that) I was ready to fight. I thought I was fighting, but they were able to make the fight with (Justin) Gaethje and Tony (Ferguson), so they didn’t need me as the main event. They told me they were going to schedule me for a later date, sometime in June or July fighting Woodley, so I don’t know what happened.

“I know Woodley was refusing to fight me, and I guess he’s looking for an easier fight with some guy named ‘Dilbert.’… He’s gonna move on, so now it only makes sense I want my rematch with ‘Marty Fakenewsman’ or a fight with ‘Street Judas’ Masvidal. I mean, there’s no other two choices to make right now for me than those two fights, and if I don’t get those fights then I’ll just keep waiting, keep training.”

Covington hasn’t competed since his fifth-round stoppage loss to Usman, and his priority remains a rematch with the champion. With UFC president Dana White recently hinting that there might be options for Masvidal other than Usman, that could open the door for Covington.

In the meantime, he’s staying ready.

“I’m hungry to compete again,” Covington said. “Before, I feel like I was playing with everybody. I wasn’t taking this business seriously, taking my fight serious. Now I’m serious again. I’ve been in the gym every single day since my last fight. Now I have a chip on my shoulder. Now I have something to prove, and I’m gonna come back with a vengeance, and I’m ready to come back any day.”