Colby Covington: UFC fighter provokes pre-bout row by saying Leon Edwards’ dead father is ‘in hell’

Two UFC fighters have had to be separated at their pre-bout news conference in Las Vegas after one told the other his dead father was in hell.

American challenger Colby Covington, 35, told his British opponent Leon Edwards “I’m bringing you to the seventh layer of hell [in Saturday’s fight]. We’ll say ‘what’s up’ to your dad when we’re there.”

Edwards, 32, reacted by throwing a water bottle in Covington’s direction. The pair, who both jumped up from their seats, were quickly separated by security staff.

Jamaica-born fighter Edwards’ father was shot dead in a nightclub when he was just 13.

Covington, nicknamed “Chaos”, wore a colonial-era outfit with a wispy white wig and a “Make America Great Again” cap to the event and made patriotic references to the American Revolution, which went down well with US fans present.

Referencing his clothes, he said: “1776 baby, this is the American revolution. General Washington started it, general Covington ends it.”

Edwards, who is based in Birmingham, was booed by most of the audience as he walked on stage at the start, while fans cheered and stood up to film Covington as he bowed after making his entrance.

Saturday’s contest is Edwards’ second defence of his title after beating Kamaru Usman earlier this year, while Covington is fighting for the first time since a win over Jorge Masvidal in March 2022.

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Covington, who sat back with his feet on the table while grinning for the majority of the news conference, insulted a number of fighters besides Edwards, including Tony Ferguson and Stephen Thompson who are on the UFC 296 undercard, and Ian Garry, who pulled out of his bout with Vicente Luque on Wednesday after contracting pneumonia.

Covington’s jibes were mostly received in good spirit by Edwards, who has said previously he doesn’t take the American’s persona seriously, until the crass remark about his father was made.

The pair then engaged in a tense stand-off after the news conference amid a heavy security presence.