UFC 296 ‘Edwards Vs Covington’ – Full Fight Card Breakdown + Weekly MMA Report
UFC Vegas 83 was an excellent card with many high-level combats. The promotion gave three Performance of the Night awards. Tim Elliott accepted Su Mudaerji on short notice, and it was a good decision, as Elliott stopped his opponent via nasty submission.
ON SHORT NOTICE 🤯@TElliott125 gets a big win and ends it in the first round!#UFCVegas83 pic.twitter.com/QMgDS6iOUE
— UFC (@ufc) December 10, 2023
Nasrat Haqparast shocked the world with a nasty first-round knockout against Jamie Mullarkey, while Khalil Rountree Jr. scored the greatest knockout win of his career against Anthony Smith in the third round.
First round KO for @Nasrat_MMA 🤯
Nasrat Haqparast finished Jamie Mullarkey in less than two minutes at #UFCVegas83 pic.twitter.com/4Z37h3tZlx
— UFC (@ufc) December 10, 2023
FIVE 👏 IN 👏 A 👏 ROW 👏 @KhalilRountree gets the third round KO at #UFCVegas83 pic.twitter.com/wLNV6F22w8
— UFC (@ufc) December 10, 2023
UFC 296 Announcement
One of the greatest pay-per-view cards of 2023 is heading our way. The event will take place in T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada, and there will be two title battles. Alexandre Pantoja will try to defend his 125-pound scrap against dangerous Brandon Royval, while the main event of the evening brings the long-awaited 170-pound title fight between Leon Edwards and Colby Covington.
Image source: UFCEurope Twitter
Leon Edwards is the first-ever English welterweight champion. He earned the title through one of the greatest comebacks in the history of the sport, by knocking out Kamaru Usman in the fifth round. His cardio is great, plus he spends endless hours in the gym. Leon will try to remain the champ.
Colby Covington is known for tremendous wrestling and extremely great stamina. Covington never gasses, and he loves five-round wars. Colby’s cage control is on a whole different level, but if the crowd boos, the ref will have to separate the fighters. This could turn into a technical five-round war.
Prediction: over 2.5 rounds
Alexandre Pantoja shocked the world with his toughness and endurance against Brandon Moreno. He is the all-time greatest Brazilian flyweight fighter and one of the most explosive fighters at 125. Pantoja’s striking is slick and quick, and his all-around game rocks, so he is a fan favorite for a reason.
Brandon Royval had many problems with injuries in the past, but he is fully recovered now. His coach is one of the greatest brains of the game, Marc Montoya. Royval always comes technically well-prepared, and I assume he’ll try to defeat Pantoja via close-range strikes and stunning takedown defense.
Prediction: over 2.5 rounds
UFC 296 Full Fight Card
Please keep reading to get to know more info about the upcoming PPV card.
Main Card (ESPN PPV, 10 PM ET, 3 AM UK time)
UFC Welterweight Championship: Leon Edwards (21-3-0) vs. Colby Covington (17-3-0)
UFC Flyweight Championship: Alexandre Pantoja (26-5-0) vs. Brandon Royval (15-6-0)
Welterweight: Shavkat Rakhmonov (17-0-0) vs. Stephen Thompson (17-6-1)
Lightweight: Tony Ferguson (25-9-0) vs. Paddy Pimblett (20-3-0)
Welterweight: Vicente Luque (22-9-1) vs. Ian Machado Garry (13-0-0)
Preliminary Card (ESPN2, ESPN+, UFC On Fight Pass, 8 PM ET, 1 AM UK time)
Featherweight: Josh Emmett (18-4-0) vs. Bryce Mitchell (16-1-0)
Bantamweight: Irene Aldana (14-7-0) vs. Karol Rosa (17-5-0)
Bantamweight: Cody Garbrandt (13-5-0) vs. Brian Kelleher (24-14-0)
Flyweight: Casey O’Neill (9-1-0) vs. Ariane Lipski (16-8-0)
Early Prelims (ESPN+, UFC On Fight Pass, 6 PM ET, 11 PM UK time)
Light Heavyweight: Alonzo Menifield (14-3-1) vs. Dustin Jacoby (19-7-1)
Flyweight: Tagir Ulanbekov (14-2-0) vs. Cody Durden (16-4-1)
Featherweight: Andre Fili (22-10-0) vs. Lucas Almeida (14-2-0)
Heavyweight: Shamil Gaziev (11-0-0) vs. Martin Buday (13-1-0)
Welterweight: Randy Brown (17-5-0) vs. Muslim Salikhov (19-4-0)
UFC 296 Predictions
You can take a look at my full fight card predictions in the playlist below.
This is the last pay-per-view of 2023. You can see two great title fights, plus Tony Ferguson got a perfect opportunity to snap his losing skid. Fans love Tony, and his battle against Paddy Pimblett is his last chance to stay in the greatest MMA promotion. This event is 100% worth your money, let’s have fun on Saturday evening!
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