Dana White has defended his decision to name Colby Covington as the next challenger for Leon Edwards' UFC Welterweight Championship.

After Edwards defended his title for the first time with a majority decision win to conclude his trilogy with divisional great Kamaru Usman, White announced that Rocky would next face former interim champion Covington.

Edwards later admitted he doesn't understand the rationale behind White's decision as he believes he has instead earned the right to decide who he would fight next.

Despite this, White doubled down on matchup and insisted Covington would be the current champion if Usman did not exist.

'That was a no brainer,' White told reporters of his decision to book Covington against Edwards. 'If Usman doesn't exist Colby's been the champ now for a while.'

The former All-American collegiate wrestler established himself as one of the most dominant contenders at 170lbs towards the end of the 2010s, but hasn't fought since March of last year.

At UFC 272 the 35-year-old defeated former training partner Jorge Masvidal in a grudge match, before Gamebred allegedly assaulted him outside a restaurant and left him with multiple injuries.

Covington weighed-in as a backup fighter for Edwards vs Usman III earlier this month and the UFC president noted his willingness to step in as one of the reasons he would be awarded the next title shot.

'He cut the weight, he showed up to fill in for that fight and there's a million other reasons why he deserves that fight.'

However, despite earning plaudits for his performances against Usman while coming up short in championship fights, Covington has fought just six times in the last five years.

As a result, the California-born wrestler does not currently hold any wins over fighters ranked in the top ten of the UFC's welterweight division.