Volkanovski gave a clear indication of where he stood when Edwards puts his UFC welterweight championship on the line against Covington as part of UFC 296 at Las Vegas on Sunday.

UFC 296: Edwards vs. Covington | SUN 17th DEC 2PM AEDT | Order Now with Main Event on Kayo Sports. Starting January 2024, Main Event on Kayo Sports and Foxtel will be the exclusive home of UFC Pay-Per-View events in Australia.

Tensions between the fighters boiled over at the pre-fight press conference when Covington said; “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.”

Volkanovski, who has had his own running battles with Covington, said the comments were uncalled for.

“It shows what type of human being he is,” Volkanovski said. “He crossed the line. I hope Leon teaches him a lesson. This is a sport and you get into people’s heads and there are quite a few things you do not say.

“Even if you hate the guy, there are things you do not say. That is one of them. If people are acting like that is just hyping up a fight, well that’s ridiculous. It shows you he is not a good human. Hopefully he gets what is coming to him. I am sure Leon will do that.”

The fighters came head to head again for the weigh-in on Friday with Edwards still visibly seething. Volkanovski is in Las Vegas to promote his title defence against Ilia Topuria at UFC 298 in February.

“He is a young, hungry guy,” Volkanovski said. “He wants to take the belt off me. Not much changes because I’ve been driven and passionate. He likes to talk. Whether it’s his gimmick or if he is really a cocky dude. It gets me excited and gives me more of a reason to put hands on him.

“He will talk, he will chirp. The best thing about our sport is I get to do something about it.”

The fight for Volkanovski will be his first since he suffered a lightweight world title loss to

Islam Makhachev in October.

He took that bout on with just 11 days notice but suffered a concussion during the first round defeat.

“There are regrets,” Volkanovski said. “I am proud of the man I am to step in and take those fights on short notice. I regret that I wasn’t the disciplined guy that I usually am leading into it. I wasn’t able to get into the gym and tick all the boxes that usually get me going.

“Put it this way, I was hoping it didn’t go five rounds. I knew I needed a knockout but I knew it meant I could get tagged.”

Meanwhile, Volkanovski is prepared to help the NRL’s push into Las Vegas. Volkanovski, who played rugby league before cracking it in the UFC, said rugby league could make an impact in the US.

“I will do my part to try and help them out as well,” Volkanovski said. “It’s a great sport. They just need to be aware of it. If they can put it in front of their face and if people turn up they will like it. I think it could be good.”

What time is the UFC 296 main event?

Expect Leon Edwards and Colby Covington to hit the cage at around 4pm AEDT.

What time does the PPV start?

The pay-per-view portion of UFC 296 starts at 2pm AEDT.

How to watch UFC 296 in Australia

You can order UFC 296 on Main Event and Kayo right here.  

UFC 296 full card

Leon Edwards (c) vs. Colby Covington for the UFC welterweight title

Alexandre Pantoja (c) vs. Brandon Royval 2 for the UFC flyweight title

Welterweight – Shavkat Rakhmonov vs. Stephen Thompson

Lightweight – Tony Ferguson vs. Paddy Pimblett

Featherweight – Josh Emmet vs. Bryce Mitchell

Prelims

Women’s bantamweight – Irene Aldana vs. Karol Rosa

Bantamweight – Cody Garbrandt vs. Brian Kelleher

Women’s flyweight – Casey O’Neill vs. Ariane Lipski

Light heavyweight – Alonzo Menifield vs. Dustin Jacoby

Early Prelims

Flyweight – Tagir Ulanbekov vs. Cody Durden

Featherweight – Andre Fili def Lucas Almeida via Rd 1 TKO

Heavyweight – Shamil Gaziev def Martin Buday via Rd 2 TKO

Originally published as UFC 296 Live blog: Alex Volkanovski’s message to Colby Covington after press conference chaos