UFC 296 will be home to the welterweight championship match between Leon Edwards and Colby Covington. UFC president Dana White confirmed the bout while also announcing a flyweight championship fight for the night.
UFC 296: Two Title Fights Set For December
The planned UFC 296 card in December is coming together, as UFC president Dana White announced two title fights.
Set for December 16 from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, the card will see Leon Edwards and Alexandre Pantoja both defend their respective titles.
UFC 296 Main Event
In the main event, of UFC 296, Edwards puts his welterweight title on the line against rival Colby Covington, a former interim champion.
Edwards won the title with a stunning fifth-round head-kick knockout of Kamaru Usman back in 2022 and defended the belt via majority decision vs. Usman this past March.
Overall, he is 21-3 with a no-contest and has not lost since a 2015 decision defeat to Usman. During that run, Edwards has bested the likes of Donald Cerrone, Gunnar Nelson, Rafael dos Anjos and Nate Diaz.
Covington rebounded from a loss to Usman for the belt in 2021 with a decision over Jorge Masvidal last year. He has remained inactive since that March win, awaiting his shot at the belt.
In 2018, he won the interim belt with a decision over dos Anjos but was stripped of it due to injury.
UFC 296 Co-Main Event
Pantoja will take on Brandon Royval in a rematch of their 2021 bout. That night, the reigning UFC flyweight champion picked up a submission win and a Performance of the Night bonus.
He would go on to down Alex Perez by submission in 2022 before winning the belt via split decision over Brandon Moreno this past July.
Overall, Pantoja is unbeaten in his last four and owns a 26-5 record with 18 career finishes.
Royval has reeled off three wins since that Pantoja bout, besting Rogerio Bontorin before finishing both Matt Schnell and Matheus Nicolau to improve to 15-6 overall.
