Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is just one day away from the upcoming UFC 296 pay-per-view (PPV) event on ESPN+, scheduled for this Sat. night (Dec. 16, 2023) at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. UFC 296 will be headlined by the welterweight title fight pitting reigning 170-pound champion Leon Edwards opposite No. 3-ranked title contender Colby Covington, a five-round showdown that follows the 125-pound co-headlining contest between current flyweight kingpin Alexandre Pantoja and longtime rival Brandon Royval.
But before they can fight, they must first weigh in.
The UFC 296 early (and official) weigh ins will stream LIVE from the promotion’s APEX center in the embedded video above starting promptly at 12 p.m. ET. The festivities are expected to last roughly two hours but could end much earlier depending on how quickly all 28 fighters get to the scale. The promotion will also stage the UFC 296 ceremonial weigh ins complete with fighter staredowns RIGHT HERE live from T-Mobile Arena at 8 p.m. ET. Note: Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) affords a one-pound allowance in non-title fights, but championship contests must return the exact weights, no exceptions.
Complete UFC 296 early weigh ins text results below:
UFC 296 PPV Main Card on ESPN+:
170 lbs.: UFC Welterweight Champion Leon Edwards (170) vs. Colby Covington (169.5)
125 lbs.: UFC Flyweight Champion Alexandre Pantoja (125) vs. Brandon Royval (124.5)
170 lbs.: Stephen Thompson (171) vs Shavkat Rakhmonov (171)
155 lbs.: Tony Ferguson (155.5) vs. Paddy Pimblett (155.5)
145 lbs.: Josh Emmett (146) vs. Bryce Mitchell (145.5)
170 lbs.: Belal Muhammad (169.5) — main event backup fighter
125 lbs.: Brandon Moreno (125) — co-main event backup fighter
UFC 296 ‘Prelims’ Card on ESPN2/ESPN+:
205 lbs.: Dustin Jacoby (204.5) vs. Alonzo Menifield (204.5)
135 lbs.: Irene Aldana () vs. Karol Rosa (135.5)
135 lbs.: Cody Garbrandt (136) vs. Brian Kelleher (136)
125 lbs.: Ariane Lipski (126) vs. Casey O’Neill (125)
UFC 296 Early ‘Prelims’ Card on ESPN+:
125 lbs.: Tagir Ulanbekov (126) vs. Cody Durden (126)
145 lbs.: Lucas Almeida (146) vs. Andre Fili (145.5)
265 lbs.: Martin Buday (264.5) vs. Shamil Gaziev (259.5)
MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 296 fight card right RIGHT HERE, starting with the early ESPN+ “Prelims” matches at 6:30 p.m. ET, followed by the remaining undercard balance on ESPN2/ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET, before the PPV main card start time at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+ PPV.
To check out the latest and greatest UFC 296: “Edwards vs. Covington” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here. For the updated and finalized UFC 296 fight card and ESPN+ lineup click here.