Leon Edwards on Colby Covington: ‘This Guy Used My Dad’s Death As Entertainment’

Leon Edwards dominates Colby Covington in the main event of UFC 296

Not long before the biggest fight of his career, Leon Edwards was in tears.

Ahead of Saturday’s UFC 296 press conference, Colby Covington made headlines by stating that Edwards’ deceased father is now in hell.

“After the press conference, I was crying in a rage,” said Edwards, whose father was murdered nearly two decades ago. “You can’t use my dad’s death as entertainment, and that’s what he did. To this day, it still breaks my heart he got murdered. He said my dad should burn in hell.

“This fight was very emotional for me. This guy used my dad’s death as entertainment, he used my dad’s murder as entertainment. It took a lot for me to calm down and stay focused.”

Courtesy Zuffa LLC

Edwards convincingly defeated Covington at UFC 296, winning the bout by unanimous decision. Throughout the first four rounds of his welterweight title defense, he even outclassed Covington’s heralded pace and grappling. Shockingly, he made Covington, who is now 35, look slow and old, once an unthinkable notion in the cage.

“Everyone kept going on about his cardio, his cardio, his cardio, so I wanted to control the distance and match him cardio-for-cardio,” said Edwards. “I wanted to match his technique and range and shut him down.

“I felt like he’d come out and do more. I came out orthodox for the first round, and I was waiting for him to charge forward like he normally does.”

Like everyone else, Edwards is still waiting. Despite his endless bravado, Covington did not back up his words in the cage.

“The pressure got to him,” said Edwards. “He went in a little shell and didn’t come out of it.”

Edwards accomplished his objective by collecting another win, except that he did not produce a finish. Had he not opted to grapple with Covington, then Edwards could very well have knocked him out. Yet the decision to beat Covington at his greatest strength backfired in the fifth, opening a window for Covington to control the final round with his wrestling.

“I wanted to grapple with him,” said Edwards. “I’m a mixed martial artist, and I was out there trying to prove my case.”

Covington entered this bout desperate. After not fighting since March of 2022, he must have realized this was his last best chance at the welterweight title. Yet, instead of leaving it all in the cage, he instead attempted to disrupt Edwards’ mindset by hurling insults at his late father.

Following the loss, Covington proclaimed he should have been named the winner.

“He’s a coward, and he’s always been a coward,” said Edwards. “It’s always someone else’s fault when he loses.

“He’s a great competitor, but just a dirty human being.”

The victory marked Edwards’ second straight title defense. It also marked his thirteenth straight win in the Octagon, which ties lightweight champion Islam Makhachev for the second longest active win streak in UFC history.

“I’m a mixed martial artist, not just a striker,” said Edwards, who will likely defend the belt next against Belal Muhammad unless a superstar like Georges St-Pierre were to return. “It was good to show another level of my game. I’ve outgrappled two of the best grapplers in the division.”

While he has a long road to travel, Edwards’ goal is to exceed St-Pierre’s record of nine consecutive welterweight title defenses.

“My aim now is to beat Georges’ record,” said Edwards. “I consider him the GOAT, and I want to surpass him. This is my quest–to be the greatest of all-time.”