Maverick: Chiesa-Luque Winner Up Next, Not Covington

Streaking Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) welterweight contender Leon Edwards, undefeated since falling to Kamaru Usman back in late 2015, has likely done enough at 170 pounds to warrant a division title shot.

And No. 6-ranked Michael Chiesa has no problem with that.

After all, “Rocky” put in the work. But “Maverick” does not agree with the decision to award Colby Covington with another crack at “The Nigerian Nightmare,” simply because “Chaos” has been doing nothing but complain since he first lost to Usman at UFC 245.

That’s why Chiesa wants to throw his name into the hat.

“I think that whoever wins this fight, even if Luque is the better man and gets his hand raised, I think he should move on and fight for the title,” Chiesa told the “Believe You Me” podcast (via MMA Junkie). “I think Leon should be next. I have no problems saying that. He’s on a sick win streak, you gotta give the guy what he deserves. He has paid his dues, he’s undefeated in his last 10 fights, but I think whoever wins between me and Luque should be next. … I don’t think this fucking guy (Covington) should be able to win one fight in a year and sit on the sidelines.”

UFC President Dana White does not concur.

Chiesa (18-4) moved up from the lightweight division in late 2018 and has been aces ever since, to the tune of four straight wins over increasingly-difficult competition. As for Luque (20-7-1), he’s a torrid 9-1 over his last 10, having recently submitted former welterweight champion Tyron Woodley at UFC 260.

They’ll do the deed at the upcoming UFC 265 pay-per-view (PPV) event, scheduled for Sat., Aug. 7, 2021 inside Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. That said, the winner may need a devastating, argument-ending finish to get to the front of the line.

To see who else is fighting at UFC 265 click here.