UFC president Dana White has revealed that Kamaru Usman will defend his welterweight title against Colby Covington. 

The Nigerian Nightmare, who has dominated at 170-pounds, recently knocked out Jorge Masvidal to underline his status as one of the best, if not the best active fighter in MMA. 

There had been plenty of speculation over the identity of his next challenge with Britain's Leon Edwards touted if he beats Nate Diaz at UFC 263 on June 13. 

But in a blow for 'Rocky', the UFC are working on a rematch between Usman and Covington. 

White told SI: 'I agree with you, 100%. Kamaru Usman is the pound-for-pound best fighter in the world. 

'We’re working on something for him, talking about September—but definitely in the fall. It will be against Colby Covington.'

Covington is arguably the most controversial fighter in the sport with a persona designed to generate interest and aggravate a large swathe of fans. 

There was plenty of bad blood between him and Usman prior to their first encounter.

And Usman ended up breaking Covington's jaw, much to the delight of those watching who had been praying for the American to stop talking. 

Since that defeat in December 2019, Covington has only fought once, a TKO win over Tyron Woodley. 

Many will feel he has hardly earned another crack at the belt given Woodley's poor recent record and Edwards will have a strong case with a decisive win over Diaz. 

That said, Covington will generate significant pay-per-view numbers and the autumn fight is likely to be one of the UFC's biggest this year.