Ex-fighter Chael Sonnen says that Colby Covington’s disparaging remarks about Leon Edwards’ father were vile, but UFC shouldn’t ‘police language’
Legendary fighter and trash-talker Chael Sonnen recently spoke with The MMA Hour about all the build-up to the recent fight between former UFC Welterweight Champion Leon Edwards and contender Colby Covington. Edwards successfully defended his crown via unanimous decision over Covington at UFC 296 on December 16th.
The Build-Up To The Battle
Heading into the fight, ‘Chaos’ had made some pretty disparaging remarks about Edwards’ background and his father. Even Sonnen pointed out that it went too far, but discouraged Dana White and UFC from getting involved in such brutal, back-and-forth barbs.
Before his loss, Colby Covington constantly cast aspersions on Edwards’ Jamaican father. Covington claims the elder Edwards – who was killed when Leon was just 13 years old – was “a sex trafficker and drug lord who killed people.”
“What about all the victims’ families who have to live on right now, live through all the things that [Edwards’ father] did to them, how he tormented those people?” Covington asked ahead of the fight. “So, no I don’t feel bad for him, the truth hurts and that’s why people hate me, I’m not afraid to say the truth, and the truth is what always stings the worst.”
Most fans and observers felt Colby Covington went too far with his shots at the elder Edwards. And in the end? They didn’t work anyway. The challenger didn’t get inside the champ’s head enough to wrest the title away. Even with his silver-tongued reputation, Chael Sonnen thought that Covington went overboard with his insults.
“Yeah, with the dad comment, of course, he did,” Sonnen said Wednesday on The MMA Hour when asked whether Covington went too far in his controversial comments. He also added that it likely turned off a lot of fans – and that defeats the purpose of UFC.
“If the audience doesn’t like it, because make sure you understand, even if you wrote this down, what you can and can’t do, which, for a large part, is done,” Sonnen said on the show.
“[If] Dana [White] tells you, ‘Don’t go out there and curse,’ and it’s to the point even on the live broadcast, if you curse in your post-fight speech, you’re not getting a bonus, so if you win a ‘Fight of the Night,’ I’m taking it from you, do not curse.”
“But that’s as far as you can go,” Sonnen said. “And the reason I bring four-letter words up expressly is, Colby didn’t do that. So Colby would have gotten around that, had you had it written in.”
Despite his loss, it’s expected that Colby Covington will fight again soon – at UFC 299 or possibly the huge UFC 300 event which has been announced for Sat., April 13, 2024, at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Gilbert Burns has already been a rumored next opponent for Covington. However, Burns could also (ironically) be selected as the next challenger for Edwards’ welterweight title instead.
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