UFC 296 Preview
The UFC will be returning to the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on Saturday, December 16th for the last event of 2023. The UFC 296 main event will be for the welterweight title between champion Leon Edwards and former interim title holder and title challenger Colby Covington.
Edwards is making his second title defense since winning the belt in 2022 with one of the best and most historic knockouts in title fight history over Kamaru Usman. The Jamaican fighter is 11-0-1 in his last 12 fights and has not lost since 2015. Despite all his accolades, Edwards will enter this fight as an underdog.
The champion commented on Covington being favored by the UFC for a title fight over other more deserving contenders. “I feel like the world knows that [he doesn’t deserve it],” Edwards said. “He got beat by Usman. He beat a guy in [Jorge] Masvidal that’s basically about to walk out the door, and then [he sat] out for two years and got a title shot. Turned down all the fights that were offered to him, all the [fighters] that called him out. He got Dana White privilege, alright. And that’s it, he hasn’t earned it. I think (Donald) Trump wants him to win. I don’t know. None of it matters, right? My whole career’s been the underdog going against the favorite.”
Edwards commented when asked again about Covington’s Dana White privilege. “I think no one in this room knows why he’s fighting for a title. But we’re here now,” Edwards said. “The only thing that matters, all that matters, is Saturday night, going out there and taking him out and focusing fully on that. Whether he deserves it or not, it doesn’t matter, because he’s fighting anyway for the belt.”
Covington is known for his ridiculous trash talk, but does it fuel Edwards? “I don’t hate him. I don’t know him like that to hate him. I hate the character he’s playing. I find it strange that a grown-ass man is walking around with another grown-ass man (Donald Trump) on his clothes. It’s just a weird thing. I don’t get it. Plus I’m from different parts of the world than him. That’s his thing? That’s his thing, right? Fair play to him.”
The 32-year-old responded to the idea that Covington represents his biggest challenge. “He’s not as good as everyone thinks,” Edwards said. “He’s a guy who’s been stopped before by TKO, choked out before, and taken down before. There are many ways that you can beat him. He’s just a normal fighter that’s more scrappy, basically. Me and my team have come up with a great game plan to neutralize what he’s good at. My aim is to go out there and take him out.”
He concluded by responding to Covington’s words. “It’s easy (to brush off), to be fair, because I think everyone knows he’s playing a character, right?” Edwards said. “It’s easier to take someone like that as a joke. That’s what I’m able to do, take it for what it is. He’s a clown and I’ll treat him as such.”
The one non-win Edwards has on his record in his last 12 fights is a no-contest to Belal Muhammad in 2021 after an accidental eye-poke. It is believed that Muhammad will be next to challenge for the title and will be weighing in as a backup for the title at UFC 296.
Edwards commented, “If I have to fight Belal, I’ll fight Belal. I’ve proven that I’m way better than him, anyway, just from that one round. If he’s next, I would happily engage in it and it’s fine. I believe that I’m going to fight them, anyway, so why not fight them all as a champion? Why not fight them all as a king, making money for it, making pay-per-views? Why not do it then? I want to fight them all anyway, so it doesn’t matter who’s next.”
Covington has not fought since March of 2022 where he won a unanimous decision against rival Jorge Masvidal. He challenged Usman for the title a second time in 2021, but he lost a unanimous decision. Does he think his time has finally come?
“I’ve already been anointed and celebrated as the people’s champion, as America’s champion, as the ‘King of Miami’, and most importantly, as Donald Trump’s favorite fighter,” said Covington. “Saturday night, I can finally be celebrated as undisputed champion. This is destiny, this is a long time coming. This is facing adversity and coming back stronger from it. Sometimes the path is harder, but it’s because the ceiling is higher.”
“I never wanted a participation trophy. I’m not the biggest, I’m not the strongest, but I am the nastiest. My body is a vessel. I’ve been delayed, but on Saturday night, I will not be denied.”
The 35-year-old was long considered the best welterweight in the world not named Kamaru Usman. They put on two great back and forth fights. Now that Edwards has dethroned Usman and is the reigning champion, will Covington change his approach?
“People pay their hard-earned money for these pay-per-views, and I want them to sit back and admire greatness,” said Covington. “I can promise you it’s going to be entertaining.”
Covington knows he has to be the one to take control of the fight. “I feel like I need to go to a different level that I haven't been to before and can't let the judge or referee be in control of my own destiny. I need to create my own destiny,” said Covington.
Edwards won a clear decision in his last fight, but Covington has not been shy about what he thinks he saw in the performance. “I would say the biggest challenge is the cheating he does in the octagon,” he added.
“If you watched the last fight he did against Usman in the UK, he had seven or eight fouls. There was a compilation on Twitter the other day, of him poking his eyes, grabbing the fence, and grabbing his gloves multiple times.
“These are facts, he's always looking for ways to bend the rules and cheat a little bit, so that's my biggest concern. I've prepared for it accordingly, and I hope I see the best version of Leon on Saturday night.”
The co-main event of the night will be in the flyweight division. Champion Alexandre Pantoja will be defending the title for the first time in a rematch against #2 Brandon Royval.
Pantoja won the belt at UFC 290 in July with a split decision victory over two-time champion Brandon Moreno. He defeated Royval by second round submission in 2021, a fight that Royval has longed to get back.
The Brazilian does not have bad blood ahead of a rematch with Royval, and is focused on humbly remaining champion. “All the time when I go to sleep, I say, ‘Thank you, God, for everything you give to me to live this life and be able to go to the octagon and make all my friends and parents happy,'” Pantoja said. “That’s a lot for me. I live like a dream. I don’t like to say a dream too much because I like to live – day-by-day. I work a lot to live that. I feel very glad to be this person who everyone goes to the fight to watch and make everybody happy.”
He concluded, “I’m keeping my feet on the ground,” Pantoja said. “My wife is very tough. After this fight, maybe I need to go make things with my family – maybe a vacation together. I think that’s what people need to understand about my history.
“(I’m) a family guy, humble guy. You’re never going to see some bullsh*t about me. I don’t like trash-talking. If you pay to watch my fights, you don’t pay to watch my life. I’m not a reality show. I’m a fighter. I make sure every time I go to the octagon, I’m going to make a big show. I’m going to make sure I’m valuing all the coins.”
Royval has wo three straight since going on a two-fight skid against the last two champions Moreno and Pantoja. He most recently defeated Matheus Nicolau by KO in April. The 31-year-old has grand aspirations if he becomes champion on Saturday. Does he see a third fight with Pantoja happening immediately?
“That was going to be my first callout,” Royval said. “Two out of three. I want to fight him immediately. I want to fight him at UFC 300. I want to fight him as quickly as possible and I want to end this right now. I want to end the discussion of who is the better fighter, because I know in my head that I’m way better and way more skilled than he is.
“That being said, who knows how this fight plays out. Who knows how much time either one of us are going to need, because basically we’re both kind of wild fighters. I do live in the chaos and I do see this as both of us dragging each other to hell.”
Despite a potential third fight with Pantoja, Royval has another rematch in mind. “I want to fight Moreno again,” Royval said. “If he beats [Amir] Albazi, I want that Moreno rematch right away.”
Pantoja was the first fighter to fight for the title other than Moreno and Deveison Figueiredo since 2020. Royval wants to bring more new blood to the division’s title fights. “I want to stay active as a champion,” Royval said. “It’s just to the point where the flyweight division’s been held up for so long that I don’t want to be a champion that sits back and waits. I want to go out there and run through the division as quickly as possible and move on to my next endeavor.
“I want to fight Moreno or Pantoja immediately after this fight. I think those are the proper callouts. I think those are what I want as a man to secure my legacy and secure what I already think that I’m a better fighter than both these guys. But I have a big fat ‘what if’ with Moreno and also if I beat Pantoja, it’s 1-1. I don’t want to end anybody with a tie. I want to end that s***. I want to put a nail in the coffin and let the whole world know I’m the better fighter.”
The rest of the main card:
Welterweight - #5 Shavkat Rakhmonov vs. #6 Stephen Thompson
Lightweight - Tony Ferguson vs. Paddy Pimblett
ESPN+ Prelims:
Featherweight - #6 Josh Emmett vs. #10 Bryce Mitchell
Women's Bantamweight - #5 Irene Aldana vs. #9 Karol Rosa
Bantamweight Cody Garbrandt vs. Brian Kelleher
Women's Flyweight - Casey O’Neill vs. Ariane Lipski
Early Prelims on ESPN+ and UFC Fight Pass:
Light Heavyweight- #14 Alonzo Menifield vs. #15 Dustin Jacoby
Flyweight - Tagir Ulanbekov vs. Cody Durden
Featherweight - Andre Fili vs. Lucas Almeida
Heavyweight - Martin Buday vs. Shamil Gaziev
Welterweight - Randy Brown vs. Muslim Salikhov
