And New? Bookies Back ‘Chaos’ To Rout ‘Rocky’

Reigning UFC welterweight champion Leon Edwards successfully defended his 170-pound strap by defeating former division titleholder Kamaru Usman in the UFC 286 pay-per-view (PPV) main event last weekend in London, England.

Get up to speed on all the UFC 286 madness right here.

Shortly after the dust settled inside The O2, promotion president Dana White informed the combat sports media that No. 2-ranked contender Colby Covington, on hand as backup for the UFC 286 headliner, will be next in line for the welterweight title.

Covington is currently the odds-on betting favorite to defeat Edwards when they hook ‘em up later this year, according to BetOnline.ag. “Chaos” opened at -135 against +115 for “Rocky,” but that line has since shifted to -125/+105 in favor of Covington.

“I’m excited to get my hands on him,” Covington told Submission Radio. “He’s got nowhere to hide, nowhere to run. And the best part is, you can already see how afraid he is. He’s afraid. You can see it in the way he’s going, oh, Colby’s not… no, I’m next, bro. I’m number two in the world. I’m clearly the next contender. You’re talking about, oh, he hasn’t fought in this… Bro! You fought Nate Diaz, and before that you took off two years. You’re one of the most inactive fighters in the entire history of the company. So, the guy’s a fucking joke. He’s gonna get exposed, and he knows I’m coming to get that belt. He’s not the champion right now, he’s just a placeholder for me.”

Khamzat Chimaev was “in the mix” but now appears to be returning to middleweight. In addition, Jorge Masvidal and Gilbert Burns will be throwing down “to see who the best bum is” at UFC 287 in Miami. Belal Muhammad is ranked No. 4 in the division but it appears the promotion has other plans for the streaking welterweight.

Or maybe White didn’t “Remember the Name.”