Leon Edwards’ mum saved him from ditching UFC 296 gameplan for Covington after sick dad jibe as Brit eyes WW GOAT title

LEON EDWARDS has vowed to become the greatest welterweight of all time after his one-sided beatdown of Colby Covington.

The Brummie made his second defence of the prestigious 170lbs title at UFC 296 in Las Vegas early yesterday morning.

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Edwards, 32, continued his reign as Britain’s second UFC champion with a dominant display of striking and grappling to earn a unanimous decision victory in the desert dust-up.

And ‘Rocky’ has now set sights on surpassing MMA legend Georges St-Pierre’s record of nine defences of the welterweight throne.

He said: “No one thought I’d be able to be world champion, no one thought I’d be able to do defend it and no one thought I’d be able to do what I’m doing.

“But I’ve got a solid team behind and I’ve got a solid belief in myself.

“I’ve got a lot of respect for Georges, but I truly believe I can beat that record.”

He added: “I’m still a young guy trying to chase and beat the greatest of all time’s record.

“I consider him the GOAT and I want to surpass him. And I definitely have the skills to do that.”

Edwards endured multiple taunts about his murdered father from the classless Covington in the build-up to their Sin City showdown.

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And he admits his game plan would have gone out the window had his mum not managed to quell his emotions.

The slick southpaw said: “This fight was very emotional for me.

“This guy used my dad’s death as entertainment, he used my dad’s murderer as entertainment.

“It took a lot for me to calm down and stay focused on the fight.

“I spoke to my coaches and I spoke to my mum and I kind of just shut it all down.”

He added: “It was hard.

“Even to the weigh-ins yesterday I was like fuming and shaking, but after speaking to my mom and my coaches.

“Just like ‘F**k this guy’ basically and just focus on yourself.

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“’This is what he wants. He wants you to come out there and fight emotionally and like try to swing and take you down.’

“What he said is f****d up, but let’s switch it all off and go out there and do your job.”

A rematch with the in-form Belal Muhammad will likely be next for Edwards, although the pride of Birmingham insists he’s willing to fight all comers.

He said: “This is Rocky’s era, this is my era now. I’ll keep reigning and keep winning.

“Whoever is next, it doesn’t matter. They’re all similar styles, they’re all boxer-wrestlers.

“This is what I’ve built my career on. So whoever comes next, it’s whatever.”