No rest for the weary! UFC welterweight champion Leon Edwards, fresh off his consecutive title victories over former 170-pound champion Kamaru Usman, returns to battle No. 2-ranked welterweight contender Colby Covington atop the promotion’s year-end PPV card in Las Vegas. Elsewhere in the lineup, newly-crowned flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja will make his first 125-pound title defense against longtime nemesis Brandon Royval.
Event: UFC 296: “Edwards vs. Covington”
Date: Sat., Dec. 16, 2023
Location: T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada
Broadcast: ESPN+ PPV, ESPN2, ESPN+ (6:30 p.m. ET Prelims | 10 p.m. ET Main Card)
UFC 296 Main Event On ESPN+ PPV:
170 lbs.: UFC Welterweight Champion Leon Edwards vs. Colby Covington
UFC 296 Co-Main Event On ESPN+ PPV:
125 lbs.: UFC Flyweight Champion Alexandre Pantoja vs. Brandon Royval
UFC 296 Main Card on ESPN+ (10 p.m. ET):
170 lbs.: Stephen Thompson vs Shavkat Rakhmonov
155 lbs.: Tony Ferguson vs. Paddy Pimblett170 lbs.: Vicente Luque vs. Ian Garry — CANCELED (details here)
145 lbs.: Josh Emmett vs. Bryce Mitchell (not Giga Chikadze)
UFC 296 ‘Prelims’ Card on ESPN2/ESPN+ (8 p.m. ET):
205 lbs.: Dustin Jacoby vs. Alonzo Menifield
135 lbs.: Irene Aldana vs. Karol Rosa
135 lbs.: Cody Garbrandt vs. Brian Kelleher
125 lbs.: Ariane Lipski vs. Casey O’Neill
UFC 296 Early ‘Prelims’ Card on ESPN+ (6:30 p.m. ET):
125 lbs.: Tagir Ulanbekov vs. Cody Durden
145 lbs.: Lucas Almeida vs. Andre Fili
265 lbs.: Martin Buday vs. Shamil Gaziev170 lbs.: Randy Brown vs. Muslim Salikhov — CANCELED (details here)
*Fight card, bout order and number of fights remain subject to change.*