Ali Abdelaziz
Dominance MMA CEO feels Colby Covington doesn’t deserve to fight for the welterweight title
Kamaru Usman’s knockout win at UFC 261 settled the score in the Usman-Masvidal rivalry. A chaotic right hand in the second round meant that Masvidal was knocked out for the first time in his UFC career.
The immediate aftermath of the fight opened talks of a rematch against number 1 ranked welterweight contender Colby Covington. In fact, Covington had been calling out Usman for a rematch ever since his UFC 245 jaw-breaking TKO loss.
Usman’s manager and Dominance MMA CEO Ali Abdelaziz addressed this in a recent interview with Brett Okamoto of ESPN MMA. He felt that Covington hasn’t done absolutely anything to deserve a title shot, especially after being disfigured by Usman at UFC 245
Abdelaziz then went on to compare the exploits of other welterweight strikers who have been on some impressive win streaks, viz. Vicente Luque, Michael Chiesa, Leon Edwards.
Abdelaziz told Okamoto:
“Kamaru, in the last 10 months, fought three times. Colby, in the last three years, fought three times. After Kamaru destroyed his jaw and disfigured his face, Kamaru went and fought three times against very tough opponents. He (Covington) went and fought (Tyron) Woodley. The guy is not even in the UFC anymore. He is forty years old. Maybe Colby Covington is good for business. Who cares, right?”
He then added:
“Chiesa, four-fight winning streak. Vicente Luque, three-fight winning streak. Leon Edwards, nine-fight winning streak. Why is Colby Covington so special?”
Usman will not rest. The Nigerian Nightmare is all set to fight again in a couple of months time.
Abdelaziz revealed in the same interview that Usman was looking at fighting someone who had an impressive win streak in the welterweight division. That’s when Michael Chiesa’s name had popped up.
Abdelaziz had the following to say about his recent conversation with Usman:
“Kamaru called me yesterday. He said, ‘June 12, let’s throw Michael Chiesa a bone.’ He asked me who has the longest winning streak in the division in the top five or six. I said Chiesa.”
Michael Chiesa hasn’t lost since 2018. He has been on an impressive 4-fight win streak, which includes notable victories over Rafael Dos Anjos and Carlos Condit. He last fought Neil Magny, earlier this year in January, winning via. unanimous decision.
Follow our dedicated UFC page for instant UFC news and updates
