Leon Edwards kept things cool and calm for the most part during his title defense against Colby Covington, ignoring his opponents’ pre-fight taunts to earn a 49-46 decision at UFC 296.
Covington’s insults are nothing new, but his performance in the cage was a bit surprising. Gone was the endless pressure wrestling. In its place was a tentative Colby who struggled to chain together his grappling attacks. Edwards commented on Covington’s unusual hesitation at the UFC 296 post-fight presser.
“I was waiting for him to charge forward like he normally does,” Leon said. “But I feel like the pressure got to him, I feel like the different stances, the range just threw him off. He went into a little shell and didn’t come out of it, you know?”
You’d never know it from his performance, but “Rocky” admitted he struggled to keep his head cool in the cage.
“It was hard. Even at the weigh-ins yesterday I was fuming and shaking,” he revealed. “But I spoke to my mom and coaches and fight this guy and just focus on yourself, this is what he wants, he wants you to come out and fight emotional, try to swing and take you down, you know? So I thought, okay, what he said was f—ed up but let’s set it off and go out and do your job.”
In the end, Edwards believed Covington was more affected by his own antics than anyone.
“No one was feeling what he was saying,” he said. “The fans turned against him and the media was like ‘What are you doing?’ But he’s a coward and he’s always been a coward. Even when he lost the fight, he keeps making excuses like ‘Oh, I won the fight.’ Usman knocked him out and broke his jaw, and he said ‘Aw it was [the ref’s] fault.’ It’s always someone else’s fault when he loses.”
As for what’s next, Edwards didn’t seem too interested in Belal Muhammad, who weighed in as the backup fighter for UFC 296. The two met in March 2021, but the fight ended as a No Contest due to an Edwards eye poke.
“Nah there are definitely other options,” he said. “I don’t feel like Belal should be next. I’ve done it before, I’ve won like 10 fights and didn’t get a title shot. So what makes him different or more privileged?”
“So Colby’s already skipped the line already, let’s see who’s next. But like I said, this is the Rocky era, it’s my era now and I’ll keep reigning, whoever’s next, it doesn’t matter, they’re all similar styles anyways. All boxers and wrestlers, it’s what I’ve built my career on. So whoever comes next, it’s whatever, you know?”
He also said he didn’t think Shavkat Rakhmonov beating a 40-year-old “Wonderboy” made him No. 1 contender, either. But in the end, he’d take whoever the UFC put in front of him.
“My aim now is to beat Georges’ record, that is my aim so whatever will get me there, whoever’s next.”
Georges St-Pierre defended his welterweight title nine times. Leon Edwards is now at two title defenses, so he’s got some work to do.
For complete UFC 296: “Edwards vs. Covington” results and play-by-play, click HERE.
This story originally appeared on MMA Mania
