Heads up Colby Covington, Dana White Says It’s “Possible” Kamaru Usman’s Next For a Title Shot

For weeks now, the consensus has been that Colby Covington will challenge welterweight champ, Tyron Woodley next. But, following Kamaru Usman’s impressive victory over Rafael dos Anjos, UFC President Dana White says the surging welterweight could jump into a title shot.

Usman took on dos Anjos in the headliner of the TUF 28 Finale, and proceeded to strike and wrestle his way to a clear-cut, decision win over the former lightweight champ. With the victory, Usman moved his UFC record to a jaw-dropping, 9-0. Yes, 9 and 0.

Well, following the card White spoke with the media, and here’s some of what he had to say about Usman and what could be next for the rising fighter (quotes via MMA Junkie):

“I would like to see (Usman) fight Woodley now after seeing that,” White said. “Listen, Colby Covington pulled out of the fight, didn’t defend his belt, this, that, and the whole thing. I’m one of these guys, when I just see a fight like this, I want to see Usman fight now.”

“We’ll see what happens, though,” White added. “I’m not saying that’s the case (that Usman will fight Woodley next). Sure (it’s possible). Nothing’s guaranteed in life, man. Nothing’s guaranteed in life.”

“I’ve been talking a lot of smack about him in his last several fights because I feel like he talks too much and doesn’t do enough in the octagon,” White said. “Well, he looked damn good tonight. Tonight he went in, and he delivered. He was punching harder in the fifth round than he was in the first round. Just punching, kicking, wrestling – the whole thing was impressive…”

There you have it. Some lofty and deserved praise from White for Usman. There’s no question it was a very dominant win for Usman. According to Fight Metric, he landed 130 significant strikes on RDA, while the latter scored with 62. Usman also took dos Anjos down 12 times. In RDA’s decision loss to Covington this past June, the latter scored with 99 significant strikes while dos Anjos landed 105. “Chaos” landed 7 takedowns.

Now, whether you’re a Covington fan or hater, and just want to see him fight Woodley next, chances are that’s the fight the UFC will go with. After all, there’s much more of a backstory / rivalry with Woodley – Covington, and there’s been some buzz tied to that match-up for a while now. Woodley has also made it clear, and recently as well, that he wants to fight Covington.