- Heated pre-fight confrontation between Leon Edwards and Colby Covington
- READ: How Edwards reached the top and overcame all the setbacks and tragedies
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UFC welterweight champion Leon Edwards received some words of encouragement from Alexander Volkanovski ahead of his bout with Colby Covington.
During the UFC 296 showdown, things got heated when Covington made a joke about Edward’s murdered father.
With fans turning against Covington over his grim jab at Edwards’ late father, the English fighter known as ‘Rocky’ is receiving support from fans ahead of Saturday’s clash.
Support includes people like Alexander Volkanovski – the Australian MMA fighter, who currently competes in the featherweight category of UFC.
The Australian UFC featherweight champion can be heard telling Edwards, “Fix that damn piece of shit. Get into him.
Leon Edwards (left) had to be stopped by Colby Covington in the final face-off
Edwards issued a chilling warning ahead of Saturday night’s main event
Covington was booed when he responded clearly to his words on Thursday
Volkanovski’s support comes after Colby Covington’s vile comment about Leon Edwards’ murdered late father caused chaos at the UFC 296 press conference.
Britain’s Edwards sat alongside his American rival Covington in Las Vegas to speak ahead of the fight, but things got personal halfway through the open event at the MGM Arena.
“I’m taking you to the seventh layer of hell,” Covington, who supported Trump, told Edwards, before adding, “We’ll tell your dad ‘what’s going on’ while we’re there.”
The personal jibe has driven fans away from Covington in support of Edwards for Saturday’s fight.
Controversial UFC figure Sean Strickland was quick to criticize Covington for making a personal dig about Edwards’ late father.
At the age of 13, Edwards lost his father, who was shot and killed in a nightclub during what was believed to be a dispute over money.
Edwards is the current welterweight champion and has not been defeated in eight years
Emotions ran high between the pair when Covington made a joke about Leon Edwards’ father
Edwards, pictured here (L-R) with his sister, mother and grandmother – considers his mother the most important influence on his life and she cared for the family as a single mother
After becoming embroiled in a life of crime and gang activity, Edwards’ life took a turn for the better at the age of 17 when his mother discovered an MMA gym. This was a pivotal moment for the now welterweight champion.
The coaches at the gym recognized his natural talent and pushed Edwards to success, earning him accolades and, most importantly, the support and admiration of his mother.
In fifteen matches, Edwards has suffered just two defeats, one was his debut and the other against Kamaru Usman in 2015.
Edwards’ journey to the top not only transformed his own life, but also had a profound impact on his family. He has been able to make meaningful gestures, such as flying his 80-year-old grandmother to Britain for the first time.
Edwards also helped establish a Jamaican restaurant for his mother, and he now serves as an inspiration to a new generation of young people in Birmingham and across the United Kingdom.
