UFC 296 is now official for December with two championships on the line. In the main event, Colby Covington challenges Leon Edwards for the welterweight title while the co-main sees Alexandre Pantoja put his flyweight belt up for grabs vs. Brandon Royval.
UFC 296 Official For December With Two Title Fights
Colby Covington and Leon Edwards are the official main event for UFC 296, the promotion announced.
Edwards will defend his welterweight title against the former interim champion on December 16 from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Along with that title fight, Alexandre Pantoja puts his flyweight gold on the line vs. Brandon Royval.
Edwards has put together a 21-3 record overall and is currently riding a 12-fight win streak. During that time, the England native has downed the likes of Nate Diaz, Rafael dos Anjos and Kamaru Usman.
Covington has been on the sidelines since a win over Jorge Masvidal moved his record to 17-3. A former NCAA Div. I All-American wrestler, he holds notable wins over Tyron Woodley, Robbie Lawler and dos Anjos.
Pantoja claimed the title over Brandon Moreno in a classic and owns a previous win over Royval, who has catapulted himself into title contention with wins over Kai Kara-France and Matt Schnell.
Here is a look at the rest of the current UFC 296 fight card.
UFC 296: Cody Garbrandt, Tony Ferguson Also In Action
- Undefeated No. 6 ranked welterweight contender Shavkat Rakhmonov (17-0, fighting out of Kokshetau, Kazakhstan) battles former title challenger and No. 7 Stephen Thompson (17-6-1, fighting out of Simpsonville, S.C.)
- Former interim lightweight champion Tony Ferguson (26-9, fighting out of Orange County, Calif.) collides with Paddy Pimblett (20-3, fighting out of Liverpool, England) in a highly anticipated matchup
- No. 10 ranked welterweight contender Vicente Luque (22-9-1, fighting out of Brasília, Brazil) locks horns with unbeaten No. 11 Ian Machado Garry (13-0, fighting out of Dublin, Ireland by way of Belo Horizonte, Brazil)
- No. 6 ranked contender Josh Emmett (18-4, fighting out of Sacramento, Calif.) meets No. 8 Giga Chikadze (15-3, fighting out of Tbilisi, Georgia) in an exciting featherweight bout
- No. 15 ranked Alonzo Menifield (14-3-1, fighting out of Dallas, Texas) faces No. 15 Dustin Jacoby (19-7-1, fighting out of Englewood, Colo.) in a clash of light heavyweight contenders
- Former UFC bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt (13-5, fighting out of Sacramento, Calif.) faces Brian Kelleher (24-14, fighting out of Selden, N.Y.) in a bout guaranteed to deliver fireworks
- Streakingheavyweight Martin Buday (13-1, fighting out of Trnava, Slovakia) takes on undefeated Dana White’s Contender Series signee Shamil Gaziev (11-0, fighting out of Kingdom of Bahrain)
- No. 5 ranked women’s bantamweight contender Irene Aldana (14-7, fighting out of Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico) returns against No. 9 Karol Rosa (17-5, fighting out of Niteroi, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)
- Randy Brown (17-5, fighting out of Queens, N.Y. by way of Spanish Town, Jamaica) faces Muslim Salikhov (19-4, fighting out of Buynaksk, Dagestan, Russia) in an all-action welterweight tilt
- No. 13 ranked flyweight contender Tagir Ulanbekov (15-2, fighting out of Makhachkala, Russia) looks to defend his spot in the rankings against Cody Durden (16-4-1, fighting out of Covington, Ga.)
- No. 14 ranked women’s flyweight contender Casey O’Neill (9-1, fighting out of Gold Coast, Australia) squares off with Ariane Lipski (16-8, fighting out of Curitiba, Brazil)
