COLBY COVINGTON has seemingly defended his vile joke about Leon Edwards' late father during their final pre-fight face-off.
The controversial American made a sickening joke about Edwards' murdered dad during Friday morning's UFC 296 pre-fight press conference.
He said: "I'm bringing you to the seventh layer of hell.
"We'll say 'what's up' to your dad while we're there."
Welterweight champ Edwards, 32, erupted at the crass comment, throwing a water bottle at the former interim titleholder before security separated them.
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The pair took part in a tense final face-off after Saturday morning's ceremonial weigh-ins, in which security once again prevented them from getting to one another.
And he appeared to stunningly justify his actions during their tense staredown.
He said: "I was in character, I was in character. See you tomorrow."
Edwards, however, didn't buy what he was selling and issued a chilling warning to the fan favourite.
He told UFC commentator Joe Rogan: That man is as good as dead tomorrow.
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"Make sure you keep everything that you said about my dad.
"Tomorrow, we can settle it.”
It didn't take long for Covington to dive back into "character" as he said: “Las Vegas, Nevada, are you ready for an American revolution?
"This is fight tomorrow night is for all the men and women in law enforcement.
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“All our troops past and present. And the whole entire MAGA movement. You can delay us, but you cannot deny us.
"Trump is taking back the White House and I’m taking back the undisputed tomorrow night. This one’s for America, let’s go!”
