O UFC 296, which takes place this Saturday (16/12), in Las Vegas, promises to end the year with two electrifying title fights. In the main fight, the welterweight champion (up to 77,1kg.), Leon edwards, defends his title against the challenger Colby covington, in a rivalry that has been intensifying for years.
In the co-main, the Brazilian Alexandre pantoja makes his first defense of the flyweight belt (up to 56,7kg.) in a rematch against Brandon royval, who seeks to avenge his defeat in the first meeting between the two.
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Edwards and Covington have been exchanging provocations since the Englishman won the belt by defeating Kamaru Usman in March of this year, ending the trilogy between the two. The champion, who is undefeated in 12 fights, has notable victories over Nate diaz, Rafael Dos Anjos and Gunnar Nelson. The North American, former interim champion, is coming off a dominant victory over Jorge masvidal in his last fight, and is looking for his third attempt to win the division's linear belt.
Pantoja and Royval they faced each other for the first time in August 2021, at UFC Las Vegas 34, and the Brazilian got the better of him by submitting his opponent in the second round. The Brazilian, who is considered one of the best grapplers in the category, secured the belt in an epic 25-minute battle against Brandon Moreno. The North American, in turn, has three consecutive victories over Rogerio Bontorin, Matt schnell e Matheus Nicolau, and now he has the chance to become the new flyweight champion.
the card of UFC 296 It also has other unmissable fights, such as the duel between Shavkat Rakhmonov e Stephen Thompson, the confrontation between Tony Ferguson e Paddy Pimblett, and the clash between Vincent Luque e Ian Machado Garry, former training partners looking to get closer to a title shot.
Brazil will have three more representatives at the event: Karol Rosa, which faces Irene aldana in women's bantamweight (up to 61,2kg), Ariane Lipski, who faces Casey O'Neill in women's flyweight (up to 56,7kg), Lucas Almeida, which duels with André Fili in featherweight (up to 65,7kg.).
UFC 296 technical sheet
MAIN CARD (0pm Brasília time)
Welterweight (up to 77,1 kg): Leon edwards x Colby covington – fight for the belt
Flyweight (up to 56,7 kg): Alexandre pantoja x Brandon royval – fight for the belt
Welterweight (up to 77,1 kg): Shavkat Rakhmonov x Stephen Thompson
Light weight (up to 70,3 kg): Tony Ferguson x Paddy Pimblett
PRELIMINARY CARD (20:30 p.m. Brasília time)
Featherweight (up to 65,7 kg): Josh Emmett x Bryce mitchell
Bantam weight (up to 61,2 kg): Irene aldana x Karol Rosa
Bantam weight (up to 61,2 kg): cody garbrandt x brian kelleher
Flyweight (up to 56,7 kg): Casey O'Neill x Ariane Lipski
Light heavyweight (up to 93 kg): Alonzo Menifield x dustin jacoby
Flyweight (up to 56,7 kg): Tagir Ulanbekov x cody durden
Featherweight (up to 65,7 kg): André Fili x Lucas Almeida
Heavy weight (up to 120,2 kg): Martin Buday x Shamil Gaziev
Welterweight (up to 77,1 kg): Randy Brown x muslim salikhov
