Former UFC Interim Welterweight Champion Colby Covington and UFC Welterweight Champion Kamaru Usman were expected to meet at UFC 244, which is now going to be headlined by Jorge Masvidal and Nate Diaz.
Covington claims the UFC only made a single offer to him to put the title bout together and no fair negotiations took place.
“My side of the story is, I’m ready to fight, I was ready to fight, but the UFC came to be with the basic challenger’s offer,” Covington said on Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show (via Nolan King of MMA Junkie). “I’m a champion. There was no negotiation. They came and ran at me and said, ‘Here, take this, or leave it and we’ll pass it on to the next person. That’s not fair negotiating and that’s not right. So I’m not going to take the first offer that you offer me.”
The relationship between Covington and the UFC has had its ups and downs over the years, with this latest episode being a down.
If there is one thing that Covington does feel about the UFC after the failed negotiations, it would be that the promotion is treating him like crap.
“I have a world title and they still want to treat me like crap,” Covington said. “They still want to not give me any room to negotiate and work. It’s not fair. The company is rolling in money. Thirty-percent growth last month. We all know the ESPN deal. They’re making so much money. They need to make this right.”
It is unlikely that Covington and Usman would meet at UFC 244, even if things took a turn for the better, as UFC President Dana White said no title fights will happen at the event with a non-title bout in the headlining position.
