The world's premier MMA promotion is headed to Las Vegas, Nevada, for UFC fight tonight at the T-Mobile Arena. UFC 296: Edwards vs. Covington has two title fights on tap and features a series of other thrilling matchups involving top contenders and prospects across multiple divisions.
Taking the main event honors at UFC 296 will be a highly anticipated welterweight title fight between reigning 170-pound king Leon Edwards and two-time former title challenger Colby Covington.
Leon Edwards will look to make a second successful title defense this Saturday, having beaten former long-time 170-pound champion Kamaru Usman in his last two fights. 'Rocky' captured the welterweight crown with a vicious fifth-round knockout of Usman in 2022 and picked up a majority decision victory in their latest encounter earlier this year.
Colby Covington, meanwhile, hasn't fought in 21 months since beating Jorge Masvidal via unanimous decision in March of 2022. This fight marks Covington's third shot at the undisputed UFC gold after failing to dethrone then-champ Kamaru Usman on two occasions.
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Watch UFC Fight Tonight: UFC 296: Edwards vs. Covington fight preview below:
UFC Fight Tonight: Who else is fighting on the UFC 296: Edwards vs. Covington card?
Newly crowned flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja will also feature on the UFC 296 card as he faces Brandon Royval in a rematch of their 2021 meeting in the co-main event.
Pantoja won the flyweight title with a split decision win over Brandon Moreno at UFC 290 in July. The Brazilian is on a four-fight win streak and looks to make the first successful defense of his 125-pound crown.
Brandon Royval suffered a second-round submission defeat against Pantoja in their first meeting. However, he put together a three-fight win streak since that loss with back-to-back first-round finishes of Matt Schnell and Matheus Nicolau in his last two appearances. The Colorado native will look to carry that momentum into his first title opportunity this Saturday.
Watch Alexandre Pantoja vs Brandon Royval 1 below:
In another intriguing matchup, rising contender Shavkat Rakhmonov will put his undefeated streak on the line against Karate ace Stephen Thompson.
Also on the main card, Paddy Pimblett will take on Tony Ferguson in a battle of lightweights.
The potential main card opener of the UFC 296 pay-per-view will see Josh Emmett square off against Bryce Mitchell.