White: Covington 'looked slow and old' against Edwards

In what was potentially his final crack at the UFC welterweight championship, Colby Covington wasn't up to the task of dethroning Leon Edwards.

After Saturday's UFC 296 main event, UFC CEO Dana White criticized Covington's performance in the lopsided unanimous decision loss.

"Colby just looked slow and old tonight, in my opinion," White said at the postfight press conference.

"He got outwrestled," White added. "Leon looked good. Leon looked fast. (It) looked like (Covington) had trouble dealing with his speed. ... Not to mention the fact that Leon absolutely destroyed that leg, too."

Covington didn't pressure Edwards often, which was uncharacteristic for one of the division's top wrestlers. Edwards controlled the distance and outstruck the challenger for the majority of the five rounds.

Covington said ring rust impacted his performance as he hadn't stepped into the Octagon since March 2022. "Chaos" assured he's still in the prime of his career.

"I'm a lot better than that," Covington said. "I'm still 35 years young, and my best is yet to come."

In hindsight, White doesn't think it was wise for the former interim champion to sit out for nearly two years.

"When you're 35 years old, or any age in this sport, and you're like, 'Yeah, I'm gonna wait,' waiting is never a good idea in this sport," White said. "This sport doesn't wait for anybody."

He added: "(Fighters') windows are very short. And you never know once you start getting up into your mid-30s when you're gonna show up and just not look like you anymore."

In March, White argued Covington deserved a title shot - despite coming off just one win and being 2-2 in his last four fights at the time - because he weighed in as a backup for the trilogy bout between Edwards and Kamaru Usman in London.