Leon Edwards defeated Colby Covington via unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 49-46), at UFC 296 on Saturday, Dec. 16, 2023, live from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, NV.
"I knew I was the better athlete... This is my second title defense. I'm tied with Georges St-Pierre for the most consecutive wins in history. This was personal because he used my dad's death, my dad's murder for his entertainment," said Edwards who was able to control the fight using his striking and grappling skills.
"I have a long layoff and I had some ring rust. I want to thank our first responders and Donald Trump. I don't have a scratch on me, I want to come back in early 2024," said Covington whose nose was bleeding. Covington was extremely cautious and did not push the action as he had in previous fights.
Colby Covington calls tonight's main event an easy fight 👀 #UFC296 pic.twitter.com/sjsaO10MDP
— UFC (@ufc) December 17, 2023
UFC fighters reacted on Twitter to the fight. With many fighters extremely critical of Covington and his lack of output early in the fight.
This is a pitiful performance from Colby, is he even gonna try? Trump is gonna disown him after this
— Funky (@Benaskren) December 17, 2023
If Colby’s offense tonight was an accurate depiction of the U.S. strength, we would have never gotten our independence from Britain, lost WWI and got demoralized in WWII by a landslide. Colby, you suck. #ufc296
— Michael Chandler (@MikeChandlerMMA) December 17, 2023
Let me make welterweight great again
— Belal Muhammad (@bullyb170) December 17, 2023
DOMINANT from start to finish!!@Leon_EdwardsMMA went wire to wire in his victory over Colby Covington #UFC296 pic.twitter.com/BDRy5fxvkn
— UFC (@ufc) December 17, 2023
Trump over there like . I don’t know this n**** 💀 😂😂😂 #UFC296
— Derek Brunson (@DerekBrunson) December 17, 2023
Congratulations @Leon_edwardsmma great performance #UFC296
— Merab “The Machine” Dvalishvili (@MerabDvalishvil) December 17, 2023
— Nathan Diaz (@NateDiaz209) December 17, 2023