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Covington had joked about the death of Edwards’ father before the fight.
After prevailing by unanimous decision, the Briton attacked his staunch rival.
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Leon Edwards lashed out at Colby Covington in an emotional speech after his victory over the American at UFC 296, calling him a “dirty human being” for joking about his father’s death.
Edwards scored a unanimous decision victory in Las Vegas as Donald Trump watched the action unfold at the T-Mobile Arena.
Although despite Covington’s plans for the former US president to put the welterweight title around his waist if he prevailed, in the end it was the Brit who raised his hand at the end of five drab rounds.
Covington sparked controversy in the run-up to his clash with Edwards after making a vile joke about his rival’s late father, who was shot dead in a London nightclub when the MMA star was just 13 years old.
And after the victory, Edwards admitted that his opponent’s words made him cry.
Leon Edwards lashed out at Colby Covington in an emotional speech after his victory over the American at UFC 296.
Edwards outpointed Covington before calling him a “dirty human being” afterward.
Covington had made vile comments about Edwards’ late father in the lead-up to the fight.
“This fight was very emotional for me,” he said. ‘This guy used my dad’s death as entertainment. He used my father’s murder as entertainment and it took a lot for me to calm down, stay focused and win this fight.
“I talked to my coaches, I talked to my mom and I kind of closed it all down.”
He continued: ‘After the press conference I went backstage and I was crying with rage. You can’t use my father’s death as entertainment, and that’s what he did.
‘To this day it still breaks my heart that he was murdered. He said my dad should burn in hell.
Edwards then completed his post-fight interview with a stinging assessment of Covington’s character.
“He’s a great competitor, but he’s a dirty human being.”
Edwards came into Saturday having won and defended the title against former champion Kamaru Usman in his last two fights. With this victory he extends his undefeated streak to 13 fights.
The 32-year-old executed a game plan with plenty of leg kicks while nullifying most of Covington’s takedown attempts to score 49-46 on all three scorecards. While the fight was solidly won, it wasn’t as exciting as fans had hoped.