Is Colby Covington the backup fighter for UFC 286 headliner? Kamaru Usman and Leon Edwards react

Kamaru Usman and Leon Edwards are set to lock horns in a highly anticipated trilogy bout this Saturday. The welterweight championship fight will headline UFC 286 at the O2 Arena in London.

However, as we've seen previously, unforeseen circumstances could shake things up during fight week. As the UFC does with every title fight, Edwards vs. Usman 3 is set to have Colby Covington as the backup fighter should anyone pull out at the last minute.

Covington weighed in at 170lbs on Friday's official weigh-ins.

Usman and Edwards tipped the scale at championship weight as well.

While Covington's appearance did surprise the media and fans, there were rumours of 'Chaos' being spotted in London ahead of the weigh-ins.

Leon Edwards and Kamaru Usman were asked to share their thoughts on the matter at the UFC 286 pre-fight press conference. In response, the reigning welterweight champion had this to say:

"This is the first time I've heard of that, I don't know."

Suggesting that he too hadn't heard anything about former rival Colby Covington being a backup, Usman said:

"Yeah, first [time] I've heard of that."

Watch the pre-fight press conference below:

It seems like neither of them was informed of Covington's association and it was kept under wraps till the weigh-ins.

Kamaru Usman notably fought Colby Covington twice during his championship reign. 'The Nigerian Nightmare' emerged victorious both times, winning via fifth-round TKO in 2019 and via unanimous decision in 2021.

Covington returned to winning ways with a dominant showing against bitter rival Jorge Masvidal last year and currently occupies the No.2 spot in the welterweight rankings.

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Kamaru Usman wants to prove that he is "extraordinary" at UFC 286

Kamaru Usman has a point to prove against Leon Edwards this weekend at UFC 286. 'The Nigerian Nightmare' was on top of the world before Edwards knocked him out in devastating fashion at UFC 278 last year.

Going into the trilogy bout against Edwards, Usman is motivated to avenge his loss and regain the UFC welterweight championship in an emphatic fashion. During episode three of UFC 286: Embedded, the former welterweight champion had this to say about his upcoming fight:

"I'm not ordinary, I'm extraordinary. And so, March 18, I get to go prove that to myself, I get to prove that to him as well. You know, whether he's sad or whether he's happy that he takes to the belt for at least six months, you know? Now it's gone. And he's gonna say, 'Damn, that guy was extraordinary.'"

Watch the video below: