When Joe Rogan called out Leon Edwards for making "ego-based decisions" in successful title defense
Joe Rogan notably criticized Leon Edwards in the aftermath of one of Edwards' successful UFC title defenses. Rogan expressed his belief that Edwards made ego-based decisions that marred his otherwise dominant performance.
'Rocky' captured the UFC welterweight title by defeating Kamaru Usman via fifth-round KO in their rematch in Aug. 2022. Edwards notched his first successful title defense by beating Usman via majority decision in March 2023. His second title defense came against Colby Covington at UFC 296 (Dec. 16, 2023).
During the UFC 296 pre-fight press conference, Colby Covington, who's known for his extremely personal trash-talk tactics, referenced Leon Edwards' late father. Edwards' father passed away after being shot at a London nightclub.
Covington promised to bring Edwards to "the seventh layer of hell," adding that they'd greet his father there, implying that Edwards' father was in hell. 'Rocky' responded by hurling a bottle at Covington and was visibly infuriated by the latter's comments.
Watch the altercation below:
Come fight night, Edwards dominantly out-struck Covington and staved off most of his attempts to drag the fight to the mat. Covington ended the fight in the top position, but Edwards had already amassed enough points to successfully defend his title via unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 49-46). At one point in the fight, Edwards attempted to initiate the grappling just to prove a point to his opponent.
During the post-fight event recap on ESPN, Joe Rogan agreed with fellow commentator Jon Anik's take that Edwards was the superior fighter, but added that Edwards' emotions made him unnecessarily grapple with a seasoned grappler like Covington. The veteran UFC color commentator stated:
"But what was interesting is that he made choices tonight that were not the best choices to win the fight but almost like to prove a point. Like, he chose to engage Colby in grappling in moments where he did not have to, where he could have defended and got back up to his feet. And I think that would be a better path to victory, where he could have completely dominated the fight, absolutely dominated.
Rogan added:
"But he found himself on the bottom at the end of the fight getting punched by Colby, which really didn't have to happen. That's not the way you want to see a guy who's as good as Leon Edwards fight. You don't want to see him make ego-based decisions when you don't have to. Especially, when he's so superior standing up."
Check out Joe Rogan's comments below (0:00-0:55):
Leon Edwards on Colby Covington fight being 'emotional' for him
During the post-fight octagon interview, Leon Edwards indicated that he grappled to showcase his complete MMA skill set. He deemed Covington "a great competitor but just a dirty human being."
Edwards acknowledged that the fight was "very emotional" for him, as Covington used his deceased father's murder as entertainment. He recalled crying in rage backstage after Covington's comments at the pre-fight press conference.
Watch Edwards' assessment below (0:43):
Leon Edwards later claimed to have searched for Colby Covington backstage after the UFC 296 post-fight press conference. He believed Covington had been escorted away. Furthermore, Edwards recently signaled that he'd like to make up for his failure to finish Covington by securing a stoppage win in his title defense against Belal Muhammad at UFC 304 (July 27, 2024).
Edwards ended up losing his title to Muhammad via unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 49-46). During the UFC 304 post-fight press conference, UFC CEO Dana White hinted that Edwards won't get an immediate title rematch against Muhammad.
Meanwhile, during his UFC 304 post-fight octagon interview, Edwards asserted that he felt tired all week and that he'd like to get one more fight in 2024, likely in November or December.