UFC 296: Edwards vs Covington – A Night of Thrills and…

UFC 296 closed the promotion’s 2023 event calendar at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on December 16. Leon Edwards retained the welterweight championship against Colby Covington, and Alexandre Pantoja successfully defended the flyweight title against Brandon Royval, completing a twelve-fight card with two clear championship decisions.

Edwards keeps the welterweight belt

Edwards defeated Covington by unanimous decision, with all three judges scoring the fight 49–46. The champion selected his attacks and repeatedly prevented the challenger from establishing the sustained wrestling pressure that had defined many of his earlier performances.

The result was Edwards’ second successful defense after taking the belt from Kamaru Usman in 2022. Covington had moments of grappling success, but the five-round contest never became the relentless pace battle he needed to overturn the champion’s advantage.

Pantoja and Rakhmonov show their grappling quality

Pantoja defeated Royval by unanimous decision, receiving scores of 50–45, 50–45 and 49–46. His grappling was central to a successful first defense of the flyweight belt he had won from Brandon Moreno earlier that year. The victory also followed his previous non-title submission win over Royval.

Shavkat Rakhmonov submitted Stephen Thompson with a rear-naked choke at 4:56 of round two. Paddy Pimblett beat Tony Ferguson by unanimous decision, while Josh Emmett knocked out Bryce Mitchell with a right hand at 1:57 of the opening round.

The preliminaries supplied their own highlights

Irene Aldana and Karol Rosa produced a demanding three-round striking contest, with Aldana taking the unanimous decision. Cody Garbrandt knocked out Brian Kelleher, and Ariane Lipski submitted Casey O’Neill with an armbar.

Alonzo Menifield, Tagir Ulanbekov, Andre Fili and Shamil Gaziev completed the night’s winners. The scheduled Ian Machado Garry–Vicente Luque fight was canceled after Garry became ill, so it is not part of the completed card. UFC 296’s historical record is the twelve bouts below, with both champions retaining their belts.

Complete UFC 296 results

• Leon Edwards def. Colby Covington — Unanimous decision, R5, 5:00.
• Alexandre Pantoja def. Brandon Royval — Unanimous decision, R5, 5:00.
• Shavkat Rakhmonov def. Stephen Thompson — Submission (rear-naked choke), R2, 4:56.
• Paddy Pimblett def. Tony Ferguson — Unanimous decision, R3, 5:00.
• Josh Emmett def. Bryce Mitchell — KO (punch), R1, 1:57.
• Alonzo Menifield def. Dustin Jacoby — Unanimous decision, R3, 5:00.
• Irene Aldana def. Karol Rosa — Unanimous decision, R3, 5:00.
• Cody Garbrandt def. Brian Kelleher — KO (punch), R1, 3:42.
• Ariane Lipski def. Casey O’Neill — Submission (armbar), R2, 1:18.
• Tagir Ulanbekov def. Cody Durden — Submission (rear-naked choke), R2, 4:25.
• Andre Fili def. Lucas Almeida — TKO (punches), R1, 3:32.
• Shamil Gaziev def. Martin Buday — TKO (punches), R2, 0:56.

Sources

UFC 296 official results; UFC 296 official judges' scorecards.

Article Tags

UFC, UFC 296, Mixed Martial Arts