Leon Edwards: Covington Fight Doesn't Make Sense; 'I'm the King' and Should Decide

Fresh off successfully defending the UFC welterweight championship on Saturday, Leon Edwards has some objections to who is next challenger is going to be.

After UFC President Dana White announced Colby Covington will get the next title shot, Edwards told reporters he should have a say in who he fights.

"Like I said, I'm the king now. I've earned my way," the Jamaican-born English star said. "I feel I should decide who's next."

Rocky defeated Kamaru Usman by majority decision in the third fight between the two men. It was his first successful title defense after beating Usman to win the championship at UFC 278 in August.

Edwards did lay out a more elegant argument for why Covington doesn't deserve the opportunity: "He hasn't fought for over a year-and-a-half. Sat out, not injured. I just don't get how he just slides in for the world title shot when there's other guys in the division that's been active, been fighting, didn't sit out."

White said after UFC 286 that Covington "deserves the fight" but admitted he doesn't know when the bout might take place.

Covington hasn't fought since UFC 272 on March 5, 2022, when he defeated Jorge Masvidal via unanimous decision. The 35-year-old was allegedly attacked by Masvidal outside of a steak restaurant in Florida two weeks later.

Per a police report from the Miami Beach Police (h/t Damon Martin of MMA Fighting), Masvidal was arrested on charges of aggravated battery/great bodily harm and criminal mischief.

Masvidal has pleaded not guilty to the charges and has a pre-trial date scheduled for May 10, but his attorneys are trying to settle the case before it goes to trial. He's set to fight Gilbert Burns at UFC 287 on April 8.

Covington was in attendance at UFC 286 and made weight as the backup fighter for the main event if either Edwards or Usman was unable to compete. He said during the broadcast he hoped to challenge Edwards on the July 8 UFC 290 event from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.