Leon Edwards is certain that he will beat Colby Covington in their upcoming bout at UFC 296. According to the champ, there is no need to knock out the opponent, but he will do it or deliver a submission in the first or second round of their bout, adding “cementing that last nail in his coffin would be a joy.”
Edwards and Covington will enter the cage at the main event of the UFC 296, with the latter confident that he’ll finally be able to snatch the actual belt this time after serving as an interim champ in the division. Nonetheless, Edwards thinks that won’t be possible as he sees himself winning the fight with a finish.
“I see him starting fast, like he always does,” Edwards said in an MMAFightingonSBN interview. “I think I stop him in round two or three. Either by knocking him out or submission. I feel like he’s just too careless in the way he competes. He’s too careless for someone like me. I’m just way better than him, and I truly believe that.”
As “Rocky” noted, it is unnecessary to knock out the opponent but suggested that it should be done as he believes Covington doesn’t deserve the shot.
“I feel like the world knows that [he doesn’t deserve it],” Edwards said. “He got beat by [Kamaru] Usman. He beat a guy in [Jorge] Masvidal that’s basically about to walk out the door, and then [he sat] out for two years and got a title shot. Turned down all the fights that was offered to him, all the callouts that called him out.
“I feel like a win is a win, but I don’t think I need to, but I want to knock him out,” Edwards said. “I want to put that nail in his coffin. This is his fourth title shot. This one, he didn’t earn one bit. Sat out for two years, complained, moaned, blamed everybody else. It was everybody else’s fault but not his. Me cementing that last nail in his coffin would be a joy and I can’t wait to do it.
Edwards also criticized Covington’s trash-talking character. To recall, “Chaos” made some nasty descriptions about the champ earlier, calling him a “cheater” and “a waste of f*cking chromosomes and a waste of space.” Edwards, nonetheless, expresses a lack of interest in these talks, comparing Covington to the character Stifler from American Pie.
“I just ignore it,” Edwards said in another interview. “It’s a different kind of banter where I’m from and where I grew up. It just reminds me of a typical American jock. He’s like Stifler from American Pie, that kind of person. He just talks s***. It’s whatever.
“He comes out and plays a character. ‘I’m going to play a character because I’m about to get cut from the UFC.’ It’s easier for someone like that to tolerate, just laugh at him. You’re just a f****** weirdo. That’s it.
“You can say word for word what he’s going to say. You can know how he’s going to dress. He’s just a character that’s funny and a clown. We just enjoy it for what it is.”