UFC 296 Results & Highlights: Edwards Outworks Covington
The UFC closed out its 2023 schedule with a stacked card when UFC 296 took place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The headlining bout saw Leon Edwards defend his welterweight title for the second time when he took on former interim titleholder Colby Covington. It had been nearly two years since fans last saw Covington step into the Octagon, and the challenger had few moments of success over the course of five rounds against Edwards.
The night's co-main event was a flyweight title fight between Alexandre Pantoja and Brandon Royval. The pair previously met in a 2021 bout where Pantoja submitted Royval in the second round, and in their rematch “The Cannibal” bested the American once again to defend his flyweight belt for the first time.
The rest of the main card saw Shavkat Rakhmonov extend his unbeaten record and perfect finishing rate when he submitted two-time title challenger Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson. Former interim champion Tony Ferguson also suffered his seventh-straight loss at the hands of Paddy Pimblett, and Josh Emmett kicked off the main card with a brutal first-round knockout against Bryce Mitchell.
You can find highlights from the event below, as well as the full results for every fight.
Shamil Gaziev def. Martin Buday
Andre Fili def. Lucas Almeida
Tagir Ulanbekov def. Cody Durden
Ariane Lipski def. Casey O'Neill
Cody Garbrandt def. Brian Kelleher
Josh Emmett def. Bryce Mitchell
Shavkat Rakhmonov def. Stephen Thompson
Alexandre Pantoja def. Brandon Royval
Leon Edwards def. Colby Covington
Main Card: (ESPN+ PPV, 10:00 p.m. ET)
• Main Event: Leon Edwards def. Colby Covington via Unanimous Decision (49-26x3) – For the UFC Welterweight Championship
• Co-Main Event: Alexandre Pantoja def. Brandon Royval via Unanimous Decision (50-45x2, 49-46) - For the UFC Flyweight Championship
• Shavkat Rakhmonov def. Stephen Thompson via Submission (Rear Naked Choke): R2, 4:56
• Paddy Pimblett def. Tony Ferguson via Unanimous Decision (30-27x3)
• Josh Emmett def. Bryce Mitchell via KO: R1, 1:57
Preliminary Card: (ESPN2/ESPN+, 8:00 p.m. ET)
• Alonzo Menifield def. Dustin Jacoby via Unanimous Decision (29-28x3)
• Irene Aldana def. Karol Rosa via Unanimous Decision (29-28x3)
• Cody Garbrandt def. Brian Kelleher via KO: R1, 3:42
• Ariane Lipski def. Casey O'Neill via Submission (Armbar): R2, 1:18
Early Preliminary Card: (UFC Fight Pass, 6:30 p.m. ET)
• Tagir Ulanbekov def. Cody Durden via Submission (Rear Naked Choke): R2, 4:25
• Andre Fili def. Lucas Almeida via TKO: R1, 3:32
• Shamil Gaziev def. Martin Buday via TKO: R2, 0:56
