Leon Edwards got the last laugh against Colby Covington.
Edwards defeated Covington via unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 49-46) to retain the UFC welterweight title in the UFC 296 main event Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Edwards controlled the distance, landed the harder punches, and stayed busier than Covington in the majority of the rounds en route to a clear-cut victory in his second title defense.
"I knew I was a better athlete," Edwards said in his postfight interview. "All training camp, everyone kept going on about his cardio, his cardio, his cardio. ... (I knew) I could match it with technique and range."
The buildup to the match was very heated and personal, with Covington insulting Edwards' late father at Thursday's prefight press conference. But the fight itself was relatively timid. Edwards did what he needed to do, pressuring and picking Covington apart on the feet.
Edwards edged Covington 57-44 in significant strikes landed, according to UFC Stats.
Edwards' best weapon was arguably the leg kick. He chewed up Covington's lead leg with several kicks, causing serious bruising and hampering the challenger's movement.
Covington started slow and was less aggressive than usual. He blamed "ring rust" after sitting out for nearly two years. Covington said his game plan was to pressure Edwards and that he "made a bad adjustment early on."
"I will come back stronger," Covington said, adding he wants to return in the first quarter of 2024. "I'm 35 years young. I didn't take any damage. This fight was the easiest fight of my life. I thought I won the fight."
Though the 25-minute tilt primarily took place in the stand-up department, there was some grappling as well. Edwards and Covington secured two takedowns each. Edwards said he initiated some ground exchanges to show he was a well-rounded fighter. At times, that worked against the champion. Covington got up from underneath Edwards in the fifth round and reversed the position, spending the second half of that round on top.
"I wanted to grapple with (Covington) just to shut down this striker thing I've got going on," Edwards said. "I'm a mixed martial artist. ... I wanted to come out here, prove my case, outgrapple the grappler, outstrike him."
Edwards said the fight became "very emotional" for him after Covington insinuated at Thursday's press conference that Edwards' late father, who was murdered when Edwards was 13 years old, was in "hell." Edwards said he cried backstage after the presser because of "the rage."
"This guy used my dad's death as entertainment. He used my dad's murder as entertainment," Edwards said. "It took a lot for me to calm down, stay focused, and come win this fight.
"To this day, it still breaks my heart," Edwards said of his father's death.
Edwards said he was frustrated he didn't finish Covington.
"I had a few scenarios where I could've went for the choke and finished it," Edwards said. "But like I said, he's a good (fighter) - he competed hard against Kamaru Usman. ... He's a great competitor, but just a dirty human being."
With the victory, Edwards extended his unbeaten streak to 13. The Brit captured the 170-pound title with a fifth-round knockout of Kamaru Usman in August 2022 and then defended it for the first time with a majority decision win over Usman in a March trilogy bout. Edwards hasn't lost a fight since December 2015. The only blemish on his record in the last seven years is a no-contest against Belal Muhammad in 2021.
Covington returned to the Octagon for the first time since March 2022 when he defeated Jorge Masvidal. The 35-year-old has alternated wins and losses in his last six outings dating back to 2019. Covington is now 0-3 in undisputed welterweight title bouts.
