Leon Edwards fires back at Colby Covington: ‘Just stop being a b*tch and step up’

Leon Edwards still doesn’t have a fight booked, and his frustrations are beginning to show.

After his fight with Khamzat Chimaev fell through for the third time, Edwards (18-3 MMA, 10-2 UFC) made it clear that he has every intention of remaining on the UFC Fight Night card on March 13.

Edwards’ willingness to face prospect Chimaev didn’t go unnoticed by UFC president Dana White, who decided that it’s time the Birmingham native got a top-ranked opponent. White has been working on putting together a No. 1 contender matchup between Edwards and Colby Covington, but Covington shut that down quickly.

With UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman angling for a rematch with Jorge Masvidal, Edwards thinks a bout with former interim champion Covington (16-2 MMA, 11-2 UFC) is a no-brainer matchup.

“If he wants a title shot, he has to beat someone like me,” Edwards told ESPN. “I’m ranked No. 3 in the world, he got beat by the champion one fight ago (and) beat a washed-up Woodley, so I don’t understand where he goes from here if he wants to be a world champion. If Masvidal and Usman is getting made, then what does he do? He has to fight me.

“All these guys make excuses. ‘Oh, he’s not a big enough star, blah, blah, blah,’ but there’s no one that really wants to fight me. They all know I’m gonna get the victory over them, and I think that’s just making excuses as to why they don’t want to fight me. I’m ready to go, any of them guys in the top five, and that’s it.”

Edwards, who is riding an eight-fight winning streak, is on the cusp of a title shot, but hasn’t competed since defeating former UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos in July 2019. He currently doesn’t have many top-ranked options, with the likes of Stephen Thompson and Michael Chiesa injured, and he’s getting tired of Covington continuing to dismiss him.

“Just stop being a b*tch and step up,” Edwards said. “He talks all this sh*t on social media, but he doesn’t want to fight. He makes excuses as to why he doesn’t want to fight. Then step up and stop being a b*tch. Let’s get this work.”