Leon Edwards launches bottle at Colby Covington for saying ‘one of the grossest things’ in UFC press conference history

Leon Edwards reacted furiously when Colby Covington said ‘one of the grossest things’ in UFC press conference history ahead of their fight.

Edwards, who is set to defend his welterweight title against Covington at UFC 296 in Las Vegas on Saturday night, came face-to-face with 'Chaos' on Thursday.

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Covington was dressed as George Washington and firing shots at everybody on stage – he even poked fun at Ian Garry after he withdrew from the card due to pneumonia.

However, he crossed the line with a comment aimed at Edwards and almost started an on-stage brawl at the UFC 296 pre-fight press conference.

“On Saturday night, I’m going to bring you to a place you never want to be,” Covington said.

“I’m going to bring you to the seventh level of hell.

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“We’ll say what’s up to your dad while we’re there.”

The Jamaican-born Englishman, who lost his father to gun violence when he was just 13-years old, reacted to the crass comment by launching a water bottle at his opponent.

Edwards jumped from his seat and tried to confront Covington physically, but security swarmed the stage and stopped the pair from trading blows before they meet inside the UFC Octagon.

After order was restored, Edwards was asked if his latest bout had just become personal, but he tried to play down talk of a grudge match.  

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“Not really [personal],” he said. “The guy’s a piece of s***, but just make sure you keep that same energy backstage. Keep that energy backstage.”

Covington replied: “Make sure you save that f****** energy in the ring.”

The welterweight duo was kept apart during their first face-off.

Once they went their separate ways, social media was flooded with UFC fans fuming about Covington’s comment, which MMA journalist Shaheen Al-Shatti called ‘one of the grossest things I've seen at a UFC presser’.

One person tweeted: “Colby Covington is the biggest piece of s*** in the game.”

Another said: “It isn’t a persona, Colby Covington is just a bad person."

A third person wrote: “He went too far on that.”

UFC legend Quinton ‘Rampage Jackson added: “I think Colby Covington took it too far at the press conference today.”

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Covington made similar below-the-belt comments ahead of his fight with Jorge Masvidal and it resulted in their beef being settled in the streets of Miami following their fight at UFC 272.

Masvidal recently declared ‘victory' after pleading no-contest to a misdemeanour battery charge stemming from his alleged attack on his ex-friend-turned-rival in March 2022.

Covington will fight for the first time since then after claiming he suffered a brain injury during the assault, and fans are excited to see if he is still one of the best fighters on the roster.