UFC 296

UFC 296: Edwards vs. Covington
The poster for UFC 296: Edwards vs. Covington
Information
Promotion	Ultimate Fighting Championship
Date	December 16, 2023 (2023-12-16)
Venue	T-Mobile Arena
City	Paradise, Nevada, United States
Attendance	19,039 [1]
Total gate	$9,300,000 [1]
Event chronology
UFC Fight Night: Song vs. Gutiérrez UFC 296: Edwards vs. Covington UFC Fight Night: Ankalaev vs. Walker 2

UFC 296: Edwards vs. Covington was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on December 16, 2023, at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area, United States. ^[2]

Background

A UFC Welterweight Championship bout between current champion Leon Edwards and former interim champion Colby Covington headlined the event. ^[3] Belal Muhammad served as backup and potential replacement for this fight. ^[4]

A UFC Flyweight Championship bout between current champion Alexandre Pantoja and former LFA Flyweight Champion Brandon Royval took place at the event. ^[3] The pair previously met at UFC on ESPN: Cannonier vs. Gastelum in August 2021 which Pantoja won by second-round submission. ^[5] Former two-time champion Brandon Moreno served as backup and potential replacement for this fight. ^[6]

A featherweight bout between former interim UFC Featherweight Championship challenger Josh Emmett and Giga Chikadze was expected to take place at this event. ^[7] However, Chikadze withdrew due to a torn groin and was replaced by Bryce Mitchell. ^{[8] [9]}

A welterweight bout between Ian Machado Garry and Vicente Luque was expected to take place at the event. ^[10] However, the bout was scrapped after Garry withdrew due to contracting pneumonia the week of the event. ^[11]

A welterweight bout between Randy Brown and Muslim Salikhov was expected to take place at the event but was scrapped after Brown withdrew due to illness. ^[12]

Strickland-du Plessis brawl

UFC Middleweight Champion Sean Strickland and challenger Dricus du Plessis were in attendance at the event, seated within two rows of each-other by Dana White's arrangement. ^[13] While exchanging words, Strickland gestured for audience members to move and attacked du Plessis. The brawl was quickly broken up and Strickland was escorted out of the event. ^{[14] [15]} Despite the altercation, du Plessis pressed no charges. ^[16] The two were amicable during the week leading up to their fight, which du Plessis won by split decision.

Results

Main card
Weight class				Method	Round	Time	Notes
Welterweight	Leon Edwards (c)	def.	Colby Covington	Decision (unanimous) (49–46, 49–46, 49–46)	5	5:00	[lower-alpha 1]
Flyweight	Alexandre Pantoja (c)	def.	Brandon Royval	Decision (unanimous) (50–45, 50–45, 49–46)	5	5:00	[lower-alpha 2]
Welterweight	Shavkat Rakhmonov	def.	Stephen Thompson	Submission (rear-naked choke)	2	4:56
Lightweight	Paddy Pimblett	def.	Tony Ferguson	Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–27)	3	5:00
Featherweight	Josh Emmett	def.	Bryce Mitchell	KO (punch)	1	1:57
Preliminary card (ESPN2 / ESPN+)
Light Heavyweight	Alonzo Menifield	def.	Dustin Jacoby	Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28)	3	5:00
Women's Bantamweight	Irene Aldana	def.	Karol Rosa	Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28)	3	5:00
Bantamweight	Cody Garbrandt	def.	Brian Kelleher	KO (punch)	1	3:42
Women's Flyweight	Ariane Lipski	def.	Casey O'Neill	Submission (armbar)	2	1:18
Early preliminary card (ESPN+ / UFC Fight Pass)
Flyweight	Tagir Ulanbekov	def.	Cody Durden	Submission (face crank)	2	4:25
Featherweight	Andre Fili	def.	Lucas Almeida	TKO (punches)	1	3:32
Heavyweight	Shamil Gaziev	def.	Martin Buday	TKO (punches)	2	0:56

1. For the UFC Welterweight Championship.
2. For the UFC Flyweight Championship.

^[17]

Bonus awards

The following fighters received $50,000 bonuses. ^[18]

• Fight of the Night: Irene Aldana vs. Karol Rosa
• Performance of the Night: Josh Emmett, Ariane Lipski, and Shamil Gaziev

See also

• Martial Arts portal

• 2023 in UFC
• List of current UFC fighters
• List of UFC events

References

1. Bohn, Mike (December 17, 2023). "UFC 296 post-event facts: Colby Covington joins rare company with 0-3 title fight record". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Archived from the original on December 18, 2023. Retrieved December 17, 2023.
2. Richardson, Andrew (June 2, 2023). "Midnight Mania! UFC requests licenses for four more events in the UFC Apex". mmamania.com. Archived from the original on June 28, 2023. Retrieved September 20, 2023.
3. Bohn, Mike (September 20, 2023). "Leon Edwards vs. Colby Covington booked for UFC 296; Alexandre Pantoja vs. Brandon Royval 2 also added". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Archived from the original on September 21, 2023. Retrieved September 20, 2023.
4. Bohn, Mike; Hannoun, Farah (December 10, 2023). "Belal Muhammad confirms role as UFC 296 backup fighter for Leon Edwards vs. Colby Covington". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Archived from the original on December 10, 2023. Retrieved December 10, 2023.
5. Anderson, Jay (August 21, 2021). "UFC Vegas 34 results: Alexandre Pantoja subs game Brandon Royval". cagesidepress.com. Archived from the original on August 22, 2021. Retrieved August 22, 2021.
6. Bohn, Mike (December 6, 2023). "Brandon Moreno set as UFC 296 backup fighter for Alexandre Pantoja vs. Brandon Royval". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Archived from the original on December 7, 2023. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
7. Bohn, Mike (October 18, 2023). "Giga Chikadze vs. Josh Emmett added to loaded UFC 296 lineup". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Archived from the original on October 29, 2023. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
8. Samano, Simon; Hannoun, Farah (December 4, 2023). "Giga Chikadze injured, out of UFC 296 fight vs. Josh Emmett". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Archived from the original on December 5, 2023. Retrieved December 4, 2023.
9. King, Nolan (December 6, 2023). "Bryce Mitchell steps into UFC 296 vs. Josh Emmett on short notice". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Archived from the original on December 7, 2023. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
10. "Vicente Luque vs Ian Machado Garry Announced for UFC 296 PPV". itnwwe.com. September 24, 2023. Archived from the original on December 14, 2023. Retrieved December 13, 2023.
11. Martin, Damon (December 13, 2023). "Ian Machado Garry vs. Vicente Luque scrapped from UFC 296". mmafighting.com. Archived from the original on December 14, 2023. Retrieved December 13, 2023.
12. Segura, Danny (December 14, 2023). "UFC 296 loses second fight in less than 24 hours after scratched prelim". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Archived from the original on December 15, 2023. Retrieved December 14, 2023.
13. Martin, Damon (December 17, 2023). "Dana White blames himself for Sean Strickland vs. Dricus du Plessis brawl at UFC 296: 'This assh***' sat them next to each other'". MMA Fighting. Archived from the original on December 18, 2023. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
14. "Toronto main event fighters Strickland, du Plessis fight in crowd at UFC 296". Sportsnet.ca. December 16, 2023. Archived from the original on December 18, 2023. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
15. Mackenzie, Alasdair (December 17, 2023). "UFC 296: Sean Strickland attacks Dricus du Plessis in the middle of shocked Vegas crowd - 'Out of his mind'". eurosport.com. Archived from the original on December 17, 2023. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
16. King, Nolan; Bohn, Mike (January 11, 2024). "Dricus du Plessis never considered pressing charges against Sean Strickland: 'I would even take the blame'". MMA Junkie. Archived from the original on January 18, 2024. Retrieved January 18, 2024.
17. "UFC 296: Edwards vs. Covington". UFC . Archived from the original on October 12, 2023. Retrieved September 20, 2023.
18. Taylor, Chris (December 16, 2023). "UFC 296 Bonus Report: Irene Aldana and Karol Rosa earn 'FOTN' honors". bjpenn.com. Archived from the original on December 17, 2023. Retrieved December 16, 2023.