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DANA WHITE SAYS BACKUP PLANS INVOLVING COLBY COVINGTON WERE NEVER MEANT TO BE A SECRET

By David Tees on 3/17/2023 7:00 PM

Former UFC Interim Welterweight Champion Colby Covington made weight this morning as the backup fighter for the UFC 286 main event between UFC Welterweight Champion Leon Edwards and former UFC Welterweight Champion Kamaru Usman.

UFC President Dana White says that Covington being the backup fighter for the UFC 286 main event was never meant to be a secret.

“I didn’t even know it was a secret,” White told reporters following the UFC 286 ceremonial weigh-ins (transcript via Mike Heck of MMA Fighting). “We’re just doing what we do, and I’m not really aware of what [the media] knows and what [they] don’t know until it happens. It wasn’t anything that was being kept a secret. We have a backup for every fight. It’s just never a big deal. Nobody really ever asks, ‘Well, who is the backup for this fight?’ It’s not anything that we really promote. It never gets as much attention as Colby did today.”

Covington has fought and lost to Usman twice before, while he has yet to fight Edwards.

White also says Covington is still a top contender for the welterweight championship.

“That, I don’t know,” White said of Covington being next in line for the title. “He stepped up for this thing, and he’s obviously one of the best in the world, but yeah, he’s right there.”