Dana White Bothered By Colby Covington's UFC 296 Trash Talk

UFC president Dana White conducts a post fight press conference after UFC Fight Night on December 2, ... [+] 2023, at The Moody Center in Austin, TX. (Photo by John Rivera/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

During the UFC 296 pre-fight press conference, Colby Covington tried to get under the skin of his opponent on that fight card, UFC welterweight champion Leon Edwards, with a reference to Edwards’ father, who was murdered when the UFC fighter was 13. Covington’s comment did not sit well with UFC CEO Dana White.

“Absolutely. It bothered everybody,” White said at the UFC 296 post-fight press conference when asked if anything that was said leading up to the event bothered him. “What I say is true. We’re in the fight game, and lots of mean things are said. (But) one of the things that I really don’t like is family (trash talk).

“When you start going after family, whether it’s the kids, the wife, the parents, whatever, it’s just such a nasty thing to do. But again, this is one of those sports where you say horrible things, and then 24 hours later it goes down, and that’s why tonight you saw Leon’s corner going crazy, and I went over and I said, ‘Guys, listen, you won. You won in the most dominant possible way to win. You outwrestled. You outstruck. You completely dominated tonight. If this turns into what it could possibly turn into, he’s going to get fined. And it’s not worth it.”

Edwards defeated Covington by unanimous decision in UFC 296’s main event. The judges all scored the fight in favor of the defending champion 49-46. With the victory, Edwards moved to 22-3-0-1. The 32-year-old has not lost a fight since Kamaru Usman defeated him via decision in 2015. Edwards is unbeaten in his past 13 outings. He won the title in August 2022 with a last-minute knockout of Usman at UFC 278. In his first defense of the belt, Edwards scored a majority decision over Usman at UFC 286.

At the pre-fight press conference, Covington said, “On Saturday night, I’m going to bring you to a place you never want to be. I’m going to bring you to the seventh level of hell. We’ll say what’s up to your dad while we’re there.”

In response, Edwards threw a bottle of water at Covington. Security jumped between the two fighters after they both got to their feet after Edwards tossed the bottle.

UFC 299 took place at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The main card streamed on ESPN+ pay-per-view.