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Colby Covington appeared at the weigh-ins and successfully made weight to confirm his status as a backup for the main event at UFC 286 tomorrow night. There were reports that he was in London to step in on short notice should either Leon Edwards or Kamaru Usman be forced to pull out of the fight.
There's one welterweight contender who believes Covington offered to serve as a replacement because he was avoiding him. Belal Muhammad tweeted a photo and caption claiming that he agreed to fight the former interim welterweight champion at the event, but 'Chaos' turned the fight down:
"He turns down a fight on the same card so he can weigh in and not have to fight"
Muhammad also replied to a fan, who commented that Dana White had mentioned that 'Chaos' had accepted every fight that he'd been offered. 'Remember The Name' noted that he specifically asked to fight him at the event and provided a reason why he believes he was turned down:
"Lol I asked to fight colby on this card he didn’t want to he’s not fighting contenders"
It remains to be seen who Colby Covington will fight next as Muhammad has made a strong argument as to why he is deserving of the next title shot. 'Remember the Name' was also recently called out by rising contender Shavkat Rahkmonov.
When did Colby Covington last fight?
Colby Covington remains one of the top-ranked welterweights in the UFC despite not being active for a year.
'Chaos' most recently fought last March at UFC 272, where he earned a unanimous decision win over his friend-turned-enemy Jorge Masvidal. Their animosity continued in the weeks that followed as Masvidal attacked his former American Top Team teammate outside a restaurant in Miami, Florida, which led to legal issues.
Since then, the former UFC welterweight title challenger has remained inactive. For months, he was rumored to fight Khamzat Chimaev, but that fight didn't materialize and the promotion appears to have moved on from booking that bout.
