Colby Covington had more bark than bite on Saturday night. Leon Edwards reigned in his emotions, dictated the fight and defended his UFC welterweight title following an ugly build to UFC 296.

Edwards dictated the pace from the beginning, only giving Covington a chance when he chose to engage in grappling. The champ moved forward with precision, picking apart the challenger with hooks to the head and kicks to the body and legs. Covington's greatest strengths are widely believed to be his stamina, forward pressure and chain wrestling. Yet Covington was unusually reserved on Saturday, particularly in the first three rounds. 

Covington looked more alive in the later rounds, particularly when Edwards willingly engaged in his opponent's fieldhouse. Covington and Edwards each scored one takedown in Round 5 with Covington closing the fight on top after slipping out of the champ's submission attempts. All three scorecards read 49-46 in Edwards' favor.

"This one was very emotional for me. This guy used my dad's death as entertainment. Used my dad's murder as entertainment," Edwards said during his post-fight interview at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. "It took a lot for me to calm down, stay focused and come into this fight. I talked to my coaches, I talked to my mom and I shut it all down.

"After the press conference, I went backstage and started crying just because of the rage… To this day it still breaks my heart that my dad was murdered."

Covington succeeded in drawing out Edwards' emotions during their pre-fight press conference on Thursday but a cold, calculated champion entered the cage on fight night.