The world of mixed martial arts was knocked out by a feather when Colby Covington made an appearance at the weigh-ins for the UFC 286 main event. Although the fight between Leon Edwards and Kamaru Usman has been eyed by the entire world, rumors about Usman’s serious knee injury has seemingly put the world in a state of worry. However, one could have hardly imagined the UFC president, Dana White, bringing in Covington as the substitute.

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The former UFC fighter, Chael Sonnen, recently took to his YouTube channel and shared his views on Covingtons’s sudden appearance at the UFC 286 weigh-ins. Undeniably, the ‘American Gangsta’ believed that Covington deserved to be chosen, as he proved that he simply wanted a fight and showed up on a day’s notice. 

Chael Sonnen on Colby Covington’s appearance at UFC 286

The rumors about Usman being seriously hurt have been flowing around the internet, lately. Without a doubt, the rumors have also made contact with Sonnen. He said, “I don’t know. There’s rumors about Usman being hurt.” Furthermore, the fact that Covington showed up at the weigh-ins was even more of a shocker.

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However, the former mixed martial artist also believed that he was ‘Chaos’ simply wanted a fight. Sonnen said, “And to prove that he’s not scared of a guy, he just wants an opportunity, he showed up today, in England, willing in 24 hours’ notice to fight one of two guys, that nobody else wanted to fight at all.”

Read More: UFC 286: Kamaru Usman Mocks Leon Edwards’ Coach’s Viral Speech That Led to UFC 278 Win

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Moreover, Sonnen also revealed that he was skeptical about ‘Chaos’ being included in the weigh-ins given his history. He said, “It just is with only one fight being Jorge Masvidal and in between that being a period of time. I get it. I’m not calling sour grapes.”

Dana White called for Covington as a backup for Usman vs. Edwards fight

White recently gave Covington a 24-hour notice to show up at the weigh-in for UFC 286, as a backup since rumors about Usman’s injury have crossed the netizens. Doubtlessly, the fighter’s compliance with the UFC president indeed impressed the public.

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Dana White has dropped updates on slap fighting.

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White said, “Colby’s ready to fight. He’s ready to fight, and he’s ready to fight anybody… I know we’ve reached out to him for a couple of different fights and he said yes to it, but it just didn’t work out.”

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Do you think Usman would be replaced by Covington? Let us know in the comments down below.

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Krushna Prasad Pattnaik

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Krushna Pattnaik is an NFL Writer at EssentiallySports, covering the league across news, roster moves, and team developments. With a medical background, he brings particular depth to stories around player injuries, medical suspensions, and health-related developments. As a Senior Writer, he honed his editorial skills through the EssentiallySports Journalistic Excellence Program. Before moving to the NFL beat, Krushna spent three years at EssentiallySports covering MMA and Olympic sports, working across prediction pieces, live event assignments, and beat reports. With five years of personal training in Jiu-Jitsu, kickboxing, and taekwondo, he brought a practitioner's perspective to his fight coverage. He also briefly contributed to the ES YouTube team. His work earned external recognition, including a nod from Conor McGregor, and one of his pieces was featured on Brendan Schaub's podcast.

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Rohini Kottu