Leon Edwards did not let his emotions affect his performance against Colby Covington at UFC 296, but it was evident that a nerve was touched at the press conference.
Keeping true to his on-camera character, Covington stole all the headlines the week before his welterweight title fight against Leon Edwards at UFC 296. Among other things, he brought up Edwards’ late father, who was murdered when the Brit was only 13 years old.
The comment earned ‘Chaos’ a bottle to his face, but he has neither apologized nor shown any regret so far, except for a brief acknowledgment at the weigh-ins that he was “in character.”
Weighing in on the matter, Dana White condemned Covington’s actions, stating that trash-talking about family should be off the table in his opinion:
“It bothered everybody, I think. What I say is true – we’re in the fight game. Lots of mean things are said. One of the things that I really don’t like is 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.”
The UFC CEO further added that he had to step in and stop Leon Edwards’ corner from “going crazy” and being penalized after the decision win.
“You saw Leon’s corner going crazy. I went over and said, ‘Listen, guys, you won – in the most dominant possible way to win. You outwrestled, you outstruck. You completely dominated tonight. If this turns into what it could possibly turn into, he’s going to get fined. It’s not worth it. You won the fight.”
Watch White’s comments shared by MMA Junkie below:
Not just White, but the American antagonized a large section of the UFC fanbase with his comments, who later seemed to take joy in his loss.
Fans would remember a situation similar to what White was talking about going down at UFC 229 to culminate the bitter rivalry between Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov.
Leon Edwards on Colby Covington’s comments – “It still breaks my heart”
Leon Edwards’ father was involved in gang-related criminal activities and was shot dead in London. Covington used this publicly available knowledge for trash-talking purposes in the UFC 296 pre-fight press conference.
Later on, he doubled down on his stance, claiming that he did nothing wrong by saying he would take Edwards to the “seventh level of hell” and “say what’s up” to his deceased, “criminal” father.
Needless to say, it was an emotional ordeal for Leon Edwards to overcome the situation and deliver a champion-worthy performance. But he succeeded in doing exactly that, perhaps because that is the cloth from which he is cut, to paraphrase Jon Anik.
In the post-fight octagon interview with Joe Rogan at UFC 296, ‘Rocky’ said his opponent’s words made him cry, but he kept it together for the sake of the fight.
“This fight was very emotional for me. This guy used my dad’s death as entertainment… It took a lot for me to calm down… After the press conference, I went backstage and I was crying because just for the rage… To this day, it still breaks my heart.”
Watch Leon Edwards’ full interview below: