Strickland slams Covington for controversial remarks on Edwards’ father

UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland criticized rival Colby Covington during the 2024 Seasonal Press Conference in Las Vegas on Friday, December 15.

Strickland called Covington an “utter piece of s—t” following his comment about English welterweight fighter Leon Edwards’ late father.

“If you know Colby on a personal level, he f—ked over everybody he f—king knows,” Strickland said. “I take Colby as a personal insult to me because the Trumpsters, the Republicans, you guys are my f—king people, the blue collar workers.”

Strickland, who has always been known for speaking his mind freely, used the moments in the press conference to engage in trash talk with anyone willing. On top of firing shots at Covington, he also with Sean O’Malley, labeling him a “clown.” Subsequently, when his UFC 297 opponent, Dricus du Plessis, commented on Strickland’s dad beating him as a child, the American MMA artist nearly jumped out of his seat.

Controversial remarks

Earlier this week, Covington sparked chaos with a dark remark about Edwards’ deceased father during the UFC event. The controversial welterweight contender unleashed verbal attacks on numerous individuals, showing little restraint in his words.

In a heated exchange with Edwards, Covington escalated matters by discussing dragging the UFC welterweight champion to the “seventh layer of hell.” Crossing a line, he brought up Edwards’ late father, murdered in a London nightclub when Edwards was just 13.

“On Saturday night, I’m going to bring you to a place you never want to be,” Covington exclaimed. “I’m going to bring you to the seventh layer of hell. We’ll say what’s up to your dad while we’re there.”

The comment, even for a brash showman like Covington, was appalling. Edwards responded by hurling a water bottle across the stage, narrowly missing Covington’s head. The two welterweights leaped from their seats prepared for confrontation, but security promptly intervened.

Covington’s insults to Edwards’ father have crossed many lines, including those in Strickland’s opinion.

“Him making fun of Leon’s dad is the biggest f—king c—t move you can do. Leon’s mom, dad, bad guy or good guy, it doesn’t matter,” Strickland said. “She raised a boy to be a f—king man, to win a title and be a good man.”

Bitter rivalry

Strickland and Covington have shared a long history of escalating feuds, culminating in a bitter rivalry. Previously, in March 2022, Covington downplayed knowing who Strickland was during an interview with James Lynch for SportsKeeda MMA. The former Interim UFC Welterweight Champion even referred to Strickland as a “she” derogatorily.

Without holding back, Strickland fired back via an Instagram video, mentioning Covington’s previous confrontation with Brazilian heavyweight fighter and 4-time Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion Fabricio Werdum.

“Werdum walked up to you, f—king punked you, you ran away and you pulled out your phone and recorded him like a f—king Karen, bro,” Strickland said. “You’re a f—king embarrassment. Yeah, dude, I’ll be honest with you, you’re a good fighter. But as far as a man, you’re f—king pathetic.”

In a recent Code Sports interview, Covington again reignited the feud, targeting Strickland’s intellect.

“He’s pretending to be everything he wishes I was,” Covington said. “I would love to slap Sean Strickland around. He’s a pathetic excuse of a human being. The guy has no IQ. He needs his mouth wired shut, and I’m the guy to do it.”

Covington, however, must shift his focus to Edwards. This Saturday night at UFC 296 in Las Vegas, he will face “Rocky” as the event headline for the UFC Welterweight Championship.