After Colby Covington employed his dad’s death “for fun,” Leon Edwards cried out in “rage.”
As expected, the current UFC welterweight champion Edwards successfully protected his title against the very controversial Covington. The fight went five rounds, and all three judges scored it 49–46 in favor of Edwards.
In an interview via Joe Rogan after the win, Edwards said that the title defense was emotional because Covington made fun of the death for his father, who was killed in a London bar when Edwards was 13.
“This was a difficult fight for me,” the Englishman from Jamaica, 32, said. “This guy made fun of my dad’s death; he meant to murder my dad for fun.”
It took a lot for myself to calm down, keep my mind on the fight, and show up. I talked to my teachers and my mom about it, and then I just shut this down. After the talk with the press, I went backstage. It was just the anger that made me cry.
His mistake was to use my dad’s death for fun, which is not okay. It still breaks my heart that someone killed him. He told my dad that he should burn in hell. He’s a great fighter, but he’s also a dirty person.
It was tough to keep myself in check. “I was angry and shaking even at the weigh-ins,” he said. “I told my mom and coaches, ‘F-k this guy. Just focus on yourself.
He wants you to go out there as well as fight mentally and emotionally swing all over the place.'” It was clear that what he had said was wrong, but I tried to ignore it and do my job.
Colby Covington paid for his hurtful words concerning Leon Edwards’ late dad, as the UFC middleweight champion easily defended his title at UFC 296.
After winning the fight by majority decision in Las Vegas, Edwards said he had to keep his cool toward “a dirty human being.” Edwards said, “It took quite a while for me to calm down.”
He had to hold back his anger during a “very emotional” fight with a “dirty human being” Colby Covington, which Leon Edwards won at UFC 296 to retain his welterweight title.
In a shocking news conference before the fight, Covington said hurtful things about Edwards’ late father. However, the Brit kept his cool and won by unanimous decision in Las Vegas.
Edwards dominated the match for the initial five rounds, and there was no question about the outcome when the decision was made, even though Covington had a strong finish.
Edwards stated that he was upset that the judges decided the winner and that he wasn’t able finish Covington. “I feel like I was a far superior athlete and technician,” he said. “There were times when I could have used the choke to end it.
“He fought hard twice against Kamaru Usman.” He’s a great fighter, but he’s also a dirty person. Edwards’s UFC record now stands at 22-3-0, and he hasn’t lost in 13 fights since December 2015.
He was pleased with how he fought Covington overall. Covington lost to Usman twice before this fight, making it three times in a row that he failed to win the welterweight title.
“This is my second defense of the title. I’m tied for most wins within a row in the UFC.” I am going to keep performing what I am doing.
“I was sure I was a better athlete.” “We kept talking about cardio, cardio, cardio all the time in training camp,” Edwards said. “I knew how to keep him at bay, control the distance, and keep him from moving. I could also keep him as busy as I wanted.
“I made the decision to fight him and stop his strike.” I’m an amateur mixed martial artist, so I wanted to show that I was better by beating the grappler in a fight and hitting him harder.
Leon Edwards got upset after beating Colby Covington that UFC 296 because he remembered how the American had slammed his late father before the fight.
Edwards spoke out against Covington’s words after the fight and said that the death of his father still affects him.
To keep his welterweight title during the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Edwards easily won by majority decision, with scores of 49-46 on all three scorecards.
The British boxer, who was born in Jamaica, was clearly the better striker throughout all five rounds. At times, he even outgrappled Covington, who is a wrestling expert.
At a press conference before Saturday’s main event, the controversial American made fun of Edwards’ late father, who was killed when the welterweight king was only 13. This made the buildup to the fight even worse.