Colby Covington offers to fight Tyron Woodley as UFC opponent falls through

In a week of bizarre circumstances due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, one of the more heated rivalries in UFC could boil over this weekend in a location that still hasn’t been determined yet.

Former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley was scheduled to fight Leon Edwards this Saturday in London, but due to the impending mass gathering ban and travel restrictions there, UFC leadership decided to pull the event and find a new location in the U.S. instead.

However, Edwards couldn’t make the trip due to the U.S.-imposed travel ban on UK travelers, a decision he called heartbreaking. 

Enter the controversial Colby Covington, who tweeted that he would like to face Woodley and “beat the f*ck” out of him on ESPN next week. He is recovering from a broken jaw suffered in his December 2019 loss to current welterweight champion Kamaru Usman, but has had heat with Woodley for some time. Dana White tried to make that fight several times in 2019, but was unable to do so. It’s unclear if Covington is medically cleared following that broken jaw.

ESPN’s Ariel Helwani tweeted that he has spoken with Woodley who was unware Edwards had to pull out as he’s turned off social media. However, he told his management he would like to fight Covington and Covington turned down the fight although Helwani said the fight possibility is very much alive. Gilbert Burns, who just knocked out Demian Maia Saturday in Brazil, also offered to fight Woodley.

The complicating factor is where to actually put on a show as Las Vegas is unavailable due to a Nevada state ban on combat sports. Helwani said UFC is “hell bent” on making their future shows happen, something White hammered home last night on SportsCenter.

The card that will happen also will look quite different as many of the UK and European fighters on the show cannot make the trip due to the travel ban. UFC matchmakers put out an email to agents earlier today and have plenty of interested parties ready to fight, undeterred by the health risks and lack of a publicly outlined COVID-19 testing plan by the UFC.