UFC 296
Mixed martial arts event in 2023
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UFC 296: Edwards vs. Covington was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on December 16, 2023, at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area, United States.[2]
| UFC 296: Edwards vs. Covington | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
The poster for UFC 296: Edwards vs. Covington | ||||
| Promotion | Ultimate Fighting Championship | |||
| Date | December 16, 2023 | |||
| Venue | T-Mobile Arena | |||
| City | Paradise, Nevada, United States | |||
| Attendance | 19,039[1] | |||
| Total gate | $9,300,000[1] | |||
| Event chronology | ||||
| ||||
Background
A UFC Welterweight Championship bout between current champion Leon Edwards and former interim champion Colby Covington headlined the event.[3] Belal Muhammad served as backup and potential replacement for this fight.[4]
A UFC Flyweight Championship bout between current champion Alexandre Pantoja and former LFA Flyweight Champion Brandon Royval took place at the event.[3] The pair previously met at UFC on ESPN: Cannonier vs. Gastelum in August 2021 which Pantoja won by second-round submission.[5] Former two-time champion Brandon Moreno served as backup and potential replacement for this fight.[6]
A featherweight bout between former interim UFC Featherweight Championship challenger Josh Emmett and Giga Chikadze was expected to take place at this event.[7] However, Chikadze withdrew due to a torn groin and was replaced by Bryce Mitchell.[8][9]
A welterweight bout between Ian Machado Garry and Vicente Luque was expected to take place at the event.[10] However, the bout was scrapped after Garry withdrew due to contracting pneumonia the week of the event.[11]
A welterweight bout between Randy Brown and Muslim Salikhov was expected to take place at the event but was scrapped after Brown withdrew due to illness.[12]
Strickland-du Plessis brawl
UFC Middleweight Champion Sean Strickland and challenger Dricus du Plessis were in attendance at the event, seated within two rows of each-other by Dana White's arrangement.[13] While exchanging words, Strickland gestured for audience members to move and attacked du Plessis. The brawl was quickly broken up and Strickland was escorted out of the event.[14][15] Despite the altercation, du Plessis pressed no charges.[16]
Results
| Main card | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight class | Method | Round | Time | Notes | |||
| Welterweight | Leon Edwards (c) | def. | Colby Covington | Decision (unanimous) (49–46, 49–46, 49–46) | 5 | 5:00 | [a] |
| Flyweight | Alexandre Pantoja (c) | def. | Brandon Royval | Decision (unanimous) (50–45, 50–45, 49–46) | 5 | 5:00 | [b] |
| Welterweight | Shavkat Rakhmonov | def. | Stephen Thompson | Submission (rear-naked choke) | 2 | 4:56 | |
| Lightweight | Paddy Pimblett | def. | Tony Ferguson | Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Featherweight | Josh Emmett | def. | Bryce Mitchell | KO (punch) | 1 | 1:57 | |
| Preliminary card (ESPN2 / ESPN+) | |||||||
| Light Heavyweight | Alonzo Menifield | def. | Dustin Jacoby | Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Women's Bantamweight | Irene Aldana | def. | Karol Rosa | Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Bantamweight | Cody Garbrandt | def. | Brian Kelleher | KO (punch) | 1 | 3:42 | |
| Women's Flyweight | Ariane Lipski | def. | Casey O'Neill | Submission (armbar) | 2 | 1:18 | |
| Early preliminary card (ESPN+ / UFC Fight Pass) | |||||||
| Flyweight | Tagir Ulanbekov | def. | Cody Durden | Submission (face crank) | 2 | 4:25 | |
| Featherweight | Andre Fili | def. | Lucas Almeida | TKO (punches) | 1 | 3:32 | |
| Heavyweight | Shamil Gaziev | def. | Martin Buday | TKO (punches) | 2 | 0:56 | |
- For the UFC Welterweight Championship.
- For the UFC Flyweight Championship.
Bonus awards
The following fighters received $50,000 bonuses.[18]
- Fight of the Night: Irene Aldana vs. Karol Rosa
- Performance of the Night: Josh Emmett, Ariane Lipski, and Shamil Gaziev
