In a recent interview on the PBD Podcast, Colby Covington made derogatory comments about Leon Edwards" murdered father.
Firstly, he compared Edwards" late father to Adolf Hitler, explaining that he sees them as both being terrible individuals.
“Just like [Adolf] Hitler, he was a terrible person. I’m not comparing him to Hitler, but I’m saying it’s that same level of bad guy," stated Covington.
Covington accused Edwards" father of involvement in criminal activities like selling drugs and sex trafficking.
Further, he justified his statements by pointing to public records and Leon Edwards" efforts to bring his father into the spotlight for sympathy.
“You"ll definitely get a call at times if you"re racist or you go after someone"s religion. But I"d never go after those two things. I"ll expose things that need to be exposed because it"s the truth and it"s honesty. You can look up the public records about his dad. And it"s not my fault, he"s the one that put him in the limelight in the first place and make it a sympathetic figure," stated Covington.
He argued that pity shouldn"t be extended to someone with such allegations.
Colby maintained that if his father engaged in similar actions, he would call him out too, expressing the belief that Edwards" father “probably deserves to be six feet under."
The controversial remarks followed an incident at the UFC 296 press conference on Dec. 14, 2023, where Covington taunted Edwards about his late father, leading to a heated confrontation.
"On Saturday night, I’m going to bring you to a place you never want to be," Covington barked. "I’m going to bring you to the seventh layer of hell. We’ll say ‘what’s up’ to your dad while we’re there," said Covington.
Edwards reacted strongly to the remark, opting to throw a water bottle towards the stage. The projectile narrowly missed Covington"s head, prompting both welterweights to quickly rise from their seats, prepared for confrontation. However, security stepped in to prevent any escalation.
Despite the pre-fight tension, Edwards successfully defended his welterweight belt at UFC 296, defeating Covington in a bout that didn"t live up to its hype.
Edwards showcased versatility by opting for grappling and countering, rather than relying solely on his striking abilities.
In an interview with ESPN, initially published in 2019, Leon Edwards narrated his challenging journey from the streets of Kingston, Jamaica, to becoming a successful athlete in Birmingham, England.
Raised in poverty and surrounded by crime and violence, Edwards always questioned why he managed to escape the hardships that many others faced. His father"s involvement in ‘questionable activities" provided some protection, but life in Kingston was still marked by constant danger.
At the age of nine, Edwards moved to Aston, a crime-ridden neighborhood in Birmingham, where he inevitably became involved in gang life. Tragedy struck at 14 when his father was murdered in London, pushing Edwards further into a life of crime during his mid-teens.
However, a turning point occurred when his mother encouraged him to join a local gym, the Ultimate Training Center, to keep him off the streets. Edwards, initially unfamiliar with MMA, embraced the sport and quickly excelled.
Motivated by his mother"s sacrifices and the desire to provide a better life for his son, Edwards pursued a career in MMA. He won the BAMMA welterweight title in 2014 and signed with the UFC later that year.
