Welterweight champion Leon Edwards is aware that the UFC likely wants him to lose to Colby Covington on Saturday.
‘Rocky’ hasn’t been seen in the cage since a title defense against Kamaru Usman in March. There, Leon Edwards scored his second-straight win over ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’, this time by unanimous decision. Cageside that night was the recently returned Colby Covington.
‘Chaos’ took a long hiatus following a win over Jorge Masvidal early last year. However, after settling his legal issues with ‘Gamebred’, Colby Covington weighed in as the backup fighter for Leon Edwards vs. Kamaru Usman 3. Following that fight, Dana White confirmed the American would get the next title opportunity.
The whole ordeal leads Leon Edwards to believe that the UFC wants Colby Covington to win this Saturday. The welterweight champion spoke about his return on a recent edition of The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani. There, he opined that a lot is weighing in the challenger’s corner.
In the interview, Leon Edwards pointed to the fact that Colby Covington got the title shot after nearly two years of inactivity. The champion also noted that former President Donald Trump is being promoted for the card on Saturday as well. With that, he believes that the UFC has to be hoping for ‘Chaos’ to win on Saturday.
However, the champion is still unfazed heading into the matchup. Furthermore, ‘Rocky’ stated that he feels like the underdog heading into this Saturday, a position that’s not new to him.
“I couldn’t tell you.” Leon Edwards answered Ariel Helwani’s question about why Colby Covington was fighting him at UFC 296 this Saturday night. “I spoke to the UFC, I spoke to everyone and, I don’t know. They brought him in March to weigh in, which was random, I don’t know why. He’s got Dana White privilege right, and that’s it. He fought Masvidal, everyone he’s beat in the last five years is retired right? They’ve all been feeding him these guys on the backend of their careers.”
He continued, “For some reason he’s got this mad mentality that he deserves more than he’s earned. For some reason, the UFC is going with it, and here we are. I’m prepared, I’m ready, and I’m going to show him the levels… Probably [they want him to win], Trump wants him to win. I don’t know, none of it matters right?”
“My entire career has been like the underdog going against the favorite. I think this is no different. My mentality, my background, it’s all perfect to where my career is going. It all works out perfect for me. So, it is what it is.”
