"He's ready" - Dana White confirms Colby Covington wants to fight, UFC making plans for his return

Colby Covington's octagon return will seemingly be unaffected by his ongoing lawsuit against Jorge Masvidal. UFC president Dana White recently confirmed that 'Chaos' is ready to fight again.

White also stated that the UFC is making plans for the perennial welterweight contender's return to the octagon. The 53-year-old said at the DWCS Season 6, Week 5 post-fight press conference:

"Colby wants to fight. Colby wants to fight, he's ready to fight and we're making plans for him here soon."

Covington faced former teammate turned arch-rival Masvidal in a grudge match at UFC 272 earlier this year. While 'Chaos' wrestled his way to an emphatic decision victory, the fight failed to sort out any differences between the two.

'Gamebred' was accused of attacking Colby Covington outside a Miami restaurant, hardly two weeks removed from their UFC 272 clash. 'Chaos' was allegedly left with a broken tooth, an abrasion to the wrist and damage to his Rolex watch. The two are battling it out in court, with Masvidal pleading not guilty to one felony count of aggravated battery with a mask and one felony count of criminal mischief.

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Gilbert Burns claims to have heard rumors that Colby Covington will only return in March 2023

While Dana White claims that Colby Covington is ready to return to the octagon, UFC welterweight Gilbert Burns recently provided a contradictory version of the situation. According to the former title challenger, rumors suggest that 'Chaos' is yet to recover from the injuries he suffered in his altercation with Masvidal.

'Durinho' claims to have heard from people who know Covington that 'Chaos' is still undergoing physical therapy. While Burns considers Covington a dream matchup, rumors allegedly suggest that the Miami native won't be back until March 2023.

Burns recently told John Hyon Ko of The AllStar:

“That would be a dream. The rumors [were] that he was very bad. He had a neck injury, the nerves were very bad — he lost a little bit of movement in his neck. He kinda broke his jaw again, he had surgery and the surgery didn’t go well. He’s still doing the PT [physical therapy], he’s not training. If everything goes okay, he’s only back in March — that’s what I heard. I don’t know if it’s true, but I [heard] from guys that know him. I think it’s true because he’s been quiet, he hasn’t said anything. I think he’s out until March next year.”

Watch Burns' interview with The AllStar below: