
(Photo: Sean M. Haffey / Getty Images)
The end of UFC 296 brought two brief moments of post-fight clarity. Leon Edwards acknowledged that the hype got too personal, affecting his preparation as he retained his welterweight title on Saturday night. Colby Covington noted that there was some perhaps some "ring rust" in his first bout in nearly two years.
Edwards kept his belt in the 170-pound division unanimously — all three judges gave him four rounds to one for Covington in a decision. That end will have to be enough after a bout that lacked the emphatic, perhaps vengeful finish that he wanted.
It was no surprise that Edwards showed some more self-awareness than Covington afterward, acknowledging that he wanted to grapple despite his strength as a striker to make a point against the wrestling prowess of Covington. Edwards also said that he had been shaken by Covington's use of his father's shooting death as a way to sell pay-per-views.
"He used my dad's murder as entertainment," Edwards said, recalling news conferences and interviews this week in which Covington weaponized his personal story. "It took a lot for me to calm down."
Edwards has said that he was 13 when his father was shot dead in London because of a money dispute, and that he worried for his father's life because of a presence around crime.
"I was crying because just the rage," Edwards said Saturday about his reaction to Covington's resurfacing of the story. Covington had said, among other things, that he was going to take Edwards to "the seventh layer of hell" and greet Edwards' father there.
"He's a great competitor, just a dirty human being," Edwards said.
Covington didn't address the comments after the fight, but did make a brief pitch for Donald Trump's presidential campaign as the former president sat ringside. He also he hoped to fight again soon.
"I didn't take any damage in this fight," Covington said. "I thought I won the fight."
It was a bit of a weird end to the night, a point unwittingly acknowledged by the broadcast, which spent more time talking about a scuffle in the stands between Sean Strickland and Dricus Du Plessis, two middleweights in line for a championship clash in a month. That's the next headliner, of course.
UFC 296, thankfully, had plenty of better moments, including the technical dominance of Alexandre Pantoja, who defended his flyweight title against Brandon Royval in a skillful showcase of Brazilian jiu-jitsu.
On a night with numerous knockouts, the most exciting bout was perhaps Irene Aldana's decision win over Karol Rosa. Both fighters left the octagon with heavy damage on their faces, after a relentless, bloody brawl. They ended the night by sharing a graphic photo, smiling with their fists up from Rosa's hospital bed.
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