LAS VEGAS -- Leon Edwards shrugged and admitted he didn't put on anywhere near his best performance on Saturday at T-Mobile Arena as he defeated Colby Covington in their welterweight title fight in the main event of UFC 296. Edwards won the first four rounds on all three judges' scorecards and cruised to a 49-46 unanimous decision victory.
There were no dramatic moments in the fight, no moves that brought the sell-out crowd of 19,039 out of its seats. Edwards methodically outpaced Covington in a somewhat puzzling performance from the one-time interim champ. The King of Cardio did not show up on this night. He didn't have that extra gear on Saturday that broke so many in the past. His wrestling wasn't anything to write home about and there's an argument to be made that Edwards won the fight with his grappling skills, not his striking. Before the fight, his striking had been seen as Edwards' biggest weapons.
Covington, though, was unmarked except for a giant welt on his right hamstring.
"I don't feel like I've been in a fight," Covington said afterward.
Covington didn't do much in the Octagon, and the crowd that had been heavily in his favor was booing him vociferously during his post-fight interview. He made repulsive comments about Edwards' late father before the fight, and doubled down on them afterward.
Edwards' father was murdered in a London night club when Edwards was a teen-ager. Covington called Edwards' father a sex trafficker and a drug lord, though the circumstances of Edwards' father's death have never been made public and there has been nothing proven about that claim.
Asked following the bout if he regretted the comments, Covington instead doubled down.
"Not at all," he said. "Why would I have sympathy for a sex trafficker, someone who has impacted and hurt a lot of people's lives? ... I don't feel bad about that at all. Let's talk about all the victims he left behind and the trauma and the turmoil he put these peoples' lives through."
When the fight ended, Edwards' corner and Covington got into a shouting match. Edwards was emotional and in the cage said, "This guy used my Dad's death as entertainment. He used my Dad's murder as entertainment."
It was beyond distasteful, as numerous fighters pointed out.
At the post-fight news conference, lightweight Paddy Pimblett, who won a unanimous decision over Tony Ferguson, was asked about Covington's remarks about Edwards' father. He said, "He's a piece of shit, lad. He's a proper piece of shit."
Flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja, a former teammate of Covington's, said he was glad Covington lost.
UFC president Dana White said talking about family should be off-limits, but he didn't make much of Covington's despicable words.
He wasn't, however, all that impressed with that he saw.
"I thought he looked old and slow," White said of Covington.
Covington was a terrific fighter for a long time, but he's now 0-3 in title fights and not only did he accomplish next-to-anything in the Octagon on Saturday, his people seemed to turn against him. As Covington was being interviewed by Joe Rogan in the Octagon after the fight, former President Trump got up and headed back to the locker room area. The crowd booed him lustily after supporting him vociferously most of the night.
After saying they were a bunch of drunks, Covington then added to the people who only moments earlier were solidly behind him, "F*ck you!"
It was a sad and lame attempt to retain his relevance. Covington has been an elite fighter for a long time and he's a smart guy. He took on the bad guy persona to save his career when it looked as if the UFC wasn't going to re-sign him. He's gotten worse and worse with his words as time has gone on, however, and Saturday's episode trashing Edwards' father again was way beyond the pale.
He said he'd be back, and likely he will, but Saturday was probably the last time he's ever going to be taken so seriously.
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