Colby Covington lost to Leon Edwards at UFC 296, failing to claim the welterweight title in his third attempt, despite his attempts to rattle Edwards with insults about his deceased father.
Colby Covington didn’t exactly have his finest hour at UFC 296. He promised to crush Leon Edwards, the Brit, and snatch the welterweight title. But, well, that didn’t happen.
Instead, Covington got a taste of his own medicine. He’s known for his trash talk, but this time he took it too far. He insulted Edwards’ late father, a low blow even for him. Edwards’ dad was murdered when he was just a kid, 13 years old.
Covington thought he could shake Edwards, make him fight with his heart instead of his head. But, the tables turned. Covington was the one who couldn’t pull it together, losing a five-round decision. It was his third failed attempt at becoming an undisputed UFC champion.
Joe Rogan, the UFC color commentator, didn’t mince words on his podcast. “Colby talked so much s***,” he said. He called out Covington’s comments about Edwards’ dad as messed up.
“That’s Colby,” Rogan continued. “He’s good at getting under people’s skin. But this time, it backfired. He didn’t look good.”
Edwards, on the other hand, didn’t let Covington’s nasty words get to him. He dominated the fight, never giving Covington, a former NCAA All-American wrestler, a chance.
Edwards was like a sniper, picking off Covington from the outside. Covington was stuck against the cage, struggling to react to Edwards’ offensive onslaught.
Rogan gave credit where credit was due. “As bad as Covington performed, Edwards really deserves the credit,” he said. Covington couldn’t get anything going against Edwards, who’s known for his nasty striking.
“I was impressed with Leon,” Rogan said. “The problem for Colby was Leon. He was so dangerous, so sharp, so technical on his feet.”
Rogan did have one criticism about Edwards’ performance. Edwards, a 32-year-old Jamaican born fighter, kept engaging in grappling exchanges with Covington.
At first, it seemed like Edwards was just trying to prove a point. But over time, he let Covington, a former Oregon State wrestler, get more comfortable on the ground. That was really Covington’s only path to victory.
The strategy didn’t necessarily backfire, but Rogan pointed out that Edwards’ only real danger in the fight were self-inflicted wounds.
“[Leon Edward’s] grappling is very good,” Rogan said. “But that’s where the tactical errors were made. I think he could have avoided those exchanges. He had a massive advantage in the standup.”
“He still won the fight handily,” Rogan continued. “But at the end, when Colby’s on top of him, that doesn’t look good.”
Despite the criticism, Rogan acknowledged that Edwards won the fight. He just wished Edwards would have stuck to his striking, where he had the upper hand for most of the 25 minutes they spent in the cage together.
“He won 100 percent,” Rogan said. “He looked great and on his feet, he is so sharp. So sharp. He’s sharp as f***.”