Leon Edwards Believes Colby Covington ‘In For a Total Shock’ at UFC 296

Ten days out!

The Champ @Leon_EdwardsMMA is ready to do battle at #UFC296! pic.twitter.com/ZEwGo2pyO6

— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) December 6, 2023

Leon Edwards is unimpressed with Colby Covington’s recent performances.

Edwards (21-3) is scheduled to defend his strap against “Chaos” (17-3) in the UFC 296 headliner on Dec. 16 at T-Mobile arena in Las Vegas. While Belal Muhammad was widely considered the rightful title contender, the promotion elected to give the shot to Covington, who hasn’t fought since a unanimous decision win over Jorge Masvidal in March 2022.

Covington’s last two wins before that came against Tyron Woodley and Robbie Lawler, which were both followed by title losses to Kamaru Usman. Based on Covington’s recent record, Edwards doesn’t see “Chaos” posing any threat to him on fight night. Instead, “Rocky” believes the Oregon native might be in for a total shock, having not beaten anyone in their prime for a long time.

“Like I said, this is his fourth title shot. I feel like he knows this is his last one,” Edwards told UFC Europe. “As far as what’s on the line for me, how long it took me to get it, so I feel like we’ve both got a lot to prove in there. So, I am 100 percent focused [on] the best Colby. I know he’s been out for almost two years come December.”

“But I just can’t see what he goes in there and does. I’ve been the active one. I’m the younger one. He hasn’t beat no one under the age of 35, 36 since I don’t know. If you’re judging his wins off Robbie [Lawler], Woodley and Masvidal, he’s in for a total shock, what’s going to happen on fight night.”

Notorious for his trash talk, Covington recently compared his upcoming clash against the Brit to the American Revolutionary War. However, Edwards is unfazed by the American's verbal attacks to the point of finding it comical.

“He’s always playing a character, and some of the sh*t he’s coming out and saying just doesn’t make sense to me. He’s like, I’ll come back for the war that happened in America. I was like, ‘Mate, I don’t even know what you’re on about.’”

“I think that guy is a clown. But I am focused on going out there, taking him out, defending my belt for a second time, just carrying on my journey. He’s just another guy that’s in my way, and I’m going to take him out,” The Birmingham native said.