A card that is headlined by two of the biggest trash-talkers in the entirety of the UFC is headlining UFC 296 at T-Mobile Arena in Nevada. Leon Edwards and Colby Covington will square off in a bout for the Welterweight Championship. Covington has not fought in the UFC since March 2022 where he defeated Jorge Masvidal. Leon Edwards is on a hot streak as he has won 12 fights in a row including winning a title and defending the title. With how much these guys talk it sure to be a hate filled interesting fight.
The first fight to start the night was supposed to be Ian Garry vs. Vicente Luque. However Dana White announced yesterday that Ian Garry will not be fighting because he has contracted Pneumonia. It has not been announced if or what fight will replace this one but hopefully get someone who is just as electric as the undefeated Ian Garry. So I will be previewing and predicting the four fights we are sure of right now starting with…
Tony Ferguson vs. Paddy Pimblet
Now this fight is bound to be very interesting. You have up and coming superstar Paddy Pimblet taking on the long time UFC veteran Tony Ferguson. Now Ferguson has been on a hard decline throughout his last fights losing 6 straight fights. However we may see a brand new Ferguson come out as for a portion of his camp he went through a “hell week” with Ex Navy Seal and motivational speaker David Goggins. If Ferguson loses this fight it may be time for him to hang up the gloves and retire so there is a lot on the line. However with someone like Pimblet you have a fighter that was recently the center of attention and is undefeated in the UFC. Pimblet is looking to extend his wins in the UFC to 5 and doing that against a veteran like Ferguson could give him the boost he needs into the rankings. Now for the prediction, I personally think that Paddy “The Baddy” Pimblet will get the job done, finishing Ferguson once and for all. But as we know in the UFC, this fight could easily go either way and it may just come down to who wants it more.
Shavkat Rakhmonov (5) vs. Stephen Thompson (6)
This fight is set to be absolutely incredible. Two of the absolute best fighters in the Welterweight division battling it out. In the octagon. On one side you have the undefeated Rakhmonov who has finished all 17 of his opponents including 9 in the first round. Rakhmonov has looked completely unstoppable quickly climbing the rankings and if he secures this win may be in like for a title shot. On the other end you have Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson who has some of the most if not the most elite kickboxing in the UFC. Now I do believe that Shavkat Rakhmonov will win and I suprisingly think he will continue his streak of finishes. I believe Thompson is just getting a little to old and his chin and other factors could play a huge role in this fight.
Alexandre Pantoja (C) vs. Brandon Royval (2)
This is a fight that will 100% guaranteed be a dogfight. These men have matched up before but I don’t see how the champ Pantoja doesn’t win this fight. He has a ridiculous chin and very top tier cardio that was demonstrated when he took the belt away from Brandon Moreno in his last fight. Pantoja also has the grappling advantage and has beaten Royval last time they fought about two years ago finishing him by submission.
Leon Edwards (C) vs. Colby Covington (3)
Now like the other fights this fight is also very up in the air. If Covington can take down Edwards and work him with his superior chain wrestling and grappling he will get the win. But if Edwards can get Covington to strike with him then Colby is in for a rough night. As of lately, Edwards takedown defense has looked extremely clean and he has gotten good at stuffing takedowns which was demonstrated in the most recent fight with Kamaru Usman. I see this fight ending up with Edwards being able to negate the takedowns just enough and picking apart Covington at range to add another title defense to his resume.
Tune in to watch these fights on Saturday, December 16th at 8:00 P.M. because there will be very competitive fights and some of the highest level fighters in the business.
