Leon Edwards accused of showing ‘disgusting disrespect’ to UK UFC fans by Colby Covington after London snub

Colby Covington has let rip at Leon Edwards for turning down the chance to headline another British UFC pay-per-view event.

‘Rocky’ successfully defended his welterweight title with a majority decision win over Kamaru Usman at the O2 Arena in London earlier this year.

UFC 286 was the first PPV show MMA’s premier promotion had held in the UK since Michael Bisping vs Dan Henderson II took place in Manchester seven years ago.

Soon after Edwards’ second successive win over Usman, rumours began to swirl about another big show in England’s capital taking place this summer but the 170lb king had no interest in fighting so soon.

The UFC has now announced they will return to the iconic London venue for a Fight Night, which currently doesn’t have a main event, on July 22.

Covington, who was cageside at UFC 286 and is Edwards’ next opponent, thinks his rival disrespected his own fans by refusing to face him in two months’ time.

“That’s disgusting,” he Covington told LowKick MMA in regards to Edwards’ refusal to fight in London this July.

“Those people, those fans over there in London – the most passionate, most diehard fans I’ve ever seen in my life, man. I respect those guys, have so much love for the UK and London.

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“Man, those people are amazing. The fact that Leon rejected a home date over there, and he thinks, ‘Oh, they’re not worthy of a pay-per-view, let them get a Fight Night.’”

‘Chaos’ lambasted the Jamaican-born Englishman for making his countrymen watch a smaller UFC event when he had the chance to headline back-to-back PPVs.

Covington added: “Oh, Leon, you think your people aren’t worthy of a f***ing main event, world championship, undisputed welterweight world title fight? You want them to have a Fight Night instead?

“Just the disrespect he has towards his own people is disgusting. It would be like me turning down a home date in Maralago, and I’m like, ‘Yeah, I’m not gonna be able to fight there.’”

Covington hasn’t fought since beating Jorge Masvidal, who was later charged with assaulting him, over five rounds at UFC 272 in March 2022.

The American earned his third title shot by weighing in as the backup fighter ahead of UFC 286 and impressing his boss, Dana White, in the process.

It appears he will face Edwards in the final few months of 2023 but the date and location for the match-up is currently unknown.