UFC: Leon Edwards rips ‘social media fighter’ Colby Covington for ‘ducking’ after Khamzat Chimaev withdrawal
- ‘Rocky’ claims Covington refused to fight him at UFC Vegas 21, and is instead demanding a title shot
- ‘I expect nothing more from him, he’s a coward,’ adds Edwards, who wants a crack at the belt himself if he beats Belal Muhammad
Leon Edwards has claimed that “coward” Colby Covington turned down the chance to fight him in this weekend’s UFC Vegas 21 main event.
“Rocky” was set to fight Khamzat Chimaev at the promotion’s Apex facility in Las Vegas, but the bout fell apart for the third time in three months, with the Chechen-born Swede suffering from long-term Covid-19 complications.
No-14 ranked American welterweight Belal Muhammad (18-3) will now share the Octagon with Edwards on short notice, with the Briton unwilling to wait again, having not fought for over 18 months.
“It’s been a long, stressful year and a half, lots of ups and downs, lots of cancellations,” Edwards told SCMP MMA. “This is my fourth camp I’ve done for an opponent. I’m happy I’m able to compete on March 13, happy Belal stepped up, and gave me the opportunity to carry on the show.”
Edwards admitted there was a sense of déjà vu when he and Muhammad were taken out of last week’s UFC 259 press conference, after Muhammad’s coach tested positive for Covid-19.
“I was like, ‘Not again’,” Edwards said. “I got on the phone to the UFC, straight away they were like, ‘We wanna keep you on the card’. They looked for an opponent, they went to Colby Covington, he said no, I said yes. We went down and down the list, and Belal Muhammad popped up and he’s the opponent we’ve got.