Leon Edwards admitted he required a lot of mental strength to complete his UFC 296 headline fight against Colby Covington after the American mocked his dead dad in the build-up. Edwards successfully defended his welterweight champion title by defeating Covington in five rounds and showed his class with a mature response to his opponent’s words after his victory.
Edwards’ dad was murdered in London when he was just 13 years old. And Covington aimed several sick insults at Rocky in the build-up to the fight.
“I’m bringing you to the seventh layer of hell,” the 35-year-old told Edwards at the pre-fight press conference. “We’ll say ‘what’s up’ to your dad while we’re there.”
Covington received criticism for the remark but doubled down in a later interview. “What about all the victims of the harm that Leon’s father did to them,” he said.
“He was a sex trafficker, he was a drug lord, he killed people, the guy’s a scumbag, why would I feel bad for that, I have no sympathy for that guy.
“What about all the victims’ families who have to live on right now, live through all the things that he did to them, how he tormented those people. So, no I don’t feel bad for him, the truth hurts and that’s why people hate me, I’m not afraid to say the truth and the truth is what always stings the worst.”
Edwards has now responded after securing a dominant victory over a listless Covington. A unanimous decision meant that the Brit retained his belt.
“This fight was very emotional for me. This guy used my dad’s death as entertainment. He used my dad as entertainment,” Edwards said.
“It took a lot for me to calm down, stay focused to win this fight. I spoke to my coaches, I spoke to my mum, and I kinda just shut it all down.”
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Asked if the fight was more difficult because of his anger towards Covington, Edwards continued: “100 per cent. After the press conference, I went backstage and I was crying just because of the rage. You can’t use my dad’s death as entertainment. It broke my heart. He said my dad’s a murderer and should burn in hell.”
Edwards started to tear up as he spoke with his words becoming inaudible. On being unable to finish off Covington, he said: “I feel like I was the much better athlete when it came down to technique. I had a few situations where I could have gone for the choke to finish it.”
In a touching gesture given Covington’s comments on his dad, Edwards added: “He’s a good guy. He competed hard against Kamaru Usman, so he’s a great competitor. But he’s just a dirty human being.”
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