Leon Edwards got his revenge against Colby Covington on Saturday night.
The reigning UFC welterweight champion successfully defended his title against the highly controversial Covington with a one-sided, five-round unanimous decision victory at UFC 296, in which all three judges scored the bout 49-46 in favor of Edwards.
Edwards during an interview with Joe Rogan after the win said the title defense was emotional, especially following Covington’s comments mocking the death of his father, who was murdered in a London nightclub when he was 13.
“This was an emotional fight for me,” said the 32-year-old Englishman by way of Jamaica. “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, stay focused and come into this fight. I spoke to my coaches, spoke to my mum, and I kind of just shut it down.
“After the press conference, I went backstage, I was crying just with the rage. You can’t use my dad’s death as entertainment, and that’s what he did. To this day, it still breaks my heart that he was murdered. [Covington] said [my dad] should burn in hell. He’s a great competitor, but he’s just a dirty human being.”
Edwards expanded on how he felt during the post-fight press conference.
“It was hard [to control myself]. Even at the weigh-ins I was fuming and shaking,” he said. “I spoke to my mum and coaches and they said, ‘F–k this guy; just focus on yourself – he wants you to come out there and fight emotionally and swing wildly.’ Obviously, what he said was f–ked up but I just tried to switch it off and go out there and do my job.”
UFC President Dana White also reacted to Covington’s comments.
“It bothered everybody,” White acknowledged. “When you start going after family, whether it’s the kids, the wife, the parents, whatever, it’s just such a nasty thing to do. But again, this is one of those sports where you say horrible things and then 24 hours later it goes down.”
Edwards originally won the UFC welterweight title with a stunning head kick knockout over previous champion Kamaru Usman last August, whom he defeated in a rematch for his first title defense in March.
Edwards improved to 22-3 with the victory.
With the loss, Covington falls to 17-4, three of his losses coming over his last five fights.
