Colby Covington might once again be getting passed up for a title shot.

Last week at his Tuesday Night Contender Series, Dana White told reporters that the UFC was currently working on a title fight between Covington and welterweight champion Kamaru Usman as the main event for UFC 244 in Madison Square Garden. But, according to Ariel Helwani, those negotiations have recently stalled, putting the fight in serious jeopardy.

This would not be the first time Covington missed out on a surefire title shot. In fact, this would make the hat trick. After defeating Rafael dos Anjos to claim an interim title, Covington refused to meet the UFC’s timeline for a fight with then-champion Tyron Woodley, wanting time to recover, so instead the UFC gave a title shot to Darren Till. Covington clearly learned nothing from that experience as afterwards, when he was once again reportedly in line for a shot at Woodley, Covington once again was unwilling to cater to the UFC’s timeline so Usman got the title shot instead and Covington had to fight Robbie Lawler. But coming off the dominant win over Lawler, most expected Covington to finally get his shot. History seems to be repeating itself though as now the UFC is reportedly looking into booking Covington;s friend and teammate Jorge Masvidal against Usman, something both Masvidal and his manager hinted at yesterday.

A fight between Usman and Masvidal would upend the potential Masvidal-Nate Diaz fight but apparently the UFC believes that could be worth it. There’s only one problem with that: Usman doesn’t seem all that interested. Helwani went on to report that Usman-Masvidal has been considered but that has also run into issues, and Usman in turn tweeted out a response dismissing Masvidal.

Usman has not fought since claiming the belt in March and now it appears there’s a real chance Usman will not be fighting this year. The UFC is also reportedly looking at the Masvidal-Diaz fight as a potential headliner for their New York card but right now, everything is up in the air.

Just another quiet day in the welterweight division.

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MUST-READ STORIES

Weigh-ins. Khabib Nurmagomedov, Dustin Poirier make weight for UFC 242.

Done. Dana White says B.J. Penn won’t fight again: ‘What I saw in that video was sad’.

Fighting on. Khabib Nurmagomedov: ‘I have too much fire inside’ to consider retirement right now.

That ‘if’ though. . . Dana White: ‘If Tony Ferguson’s ready’ he will face the winner of Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Dustin Poirier.

Missed Fists. The best highlights from MMA last week.

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VIDEO STEW

Weigh-in highlights.

Embedded.

Looking at Khabib’s journey.

Woodley says he’s all healed up and ready to fight.

Interview with Ryan Bader.

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LISTEN UP

Fights Gone By. Breaking down the big fight at UFC 242.

MMA Vivisection. Dissecting the biggest fights from UFC 242.

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SOCIAL MEDIA BOUILLABAISSE

Colby done talked himself out another title shot. You hate to see it.

Aljo telling Dom to sit down.

Tony with kind words for Dustin and Khabib.

Eddie picking Khabib.

Abu Dhabi seems like a fun event to be a part of.

Thiago Santos’ recovery seems to be going well.

Tampa poster.

Boss Logic’s 242 poster.

Cool.

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FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS

Abdoul Abdouraguimov (10-0, 1 NC) vs. Jarrah Al-Silawi (13-3); Brave CF, Oct. 4.

Marlon Vera (16-5-1) vs. Andre Ewell (15-5); UFC Tampa, Oct. 12.

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FINAL THOUGHTS

I think Dustin is the second hardest challenger for Khabib behind Gaethje which is very unfortunate because of all the possible lightweight champions, Poirier is the worst for the UFC. He’s obviously a great dude and an exciting fighter but the man is not someone whose gonna be a star and he may well kick over this whole applecart tomorrow.

Thanks for reading and see y’all on Monday.

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EXIT POLL

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