The final UFC card of 2023 takes place this weekend, with UFC 296 featuring a stacked PPV card. Find the UFC 295: Edwards vs. Covington fight card, start times and streams below.
The UFC has delivered an incredible fight card to close out the year, with UFC 296 featuring two title fights and arguably the best undercard of the year. In the main event, UFC Welterweight Champion Leon Edwards looks to defend his title against former Interim UFC Welterweight Champion Colby Covington.
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Edwards enters UFC 296 hoping to defend his title for the second time and cement his place atop the talent-rich Welterweight division. He won the belt last year with the infamous fifth-round head kick KO of Kamaru Usman and defended the title in March in a trilogy bout against Usman. Covington enters the Octagon at UFC 296 for the first time in over a year and a half, having beaten Jorge Masvidal in March 2022.
The UFC 296 co-main event features a UFC Flyweight Championship bout between newly-crowned Champion Alexandre Pantoja and exciting finisher Brandon Royval, who earned his title shot with back-to-back first-round finishes of Matt Schnell and Matheus Nicolau. Pantoja won the title with a split-decision victory over Brandon Moreno in July and now defends the belt in a rematch against Royval, who he beat in 2021.
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The stacked UFC 296 main card also features a Welterweight contest between undefeated phenom Shavkat Rakhmonov and former title challenger Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson, a Lightweight bout between former Interim Champion Tony Ferguson and Paddy Pimblett, and a ranked Welterweight matchup between former teammates Vicente Luque and Ian Machado Garry.
The UFC 296 preliminary card is also loaded from top to bottom with notable names, with the likes of Josh Emmett, Bryce Mitchell, Irene Aldana, former UFC Bantamweight Champion Cody Garbrandt, Casey O’Neill, Alonzo Menifield, Andre Fili, and Randy Brown in action.
Who is fighting at UFC 296: Leon Edwards vs. Colby Covington?
Main Card: 10:00pm ET/2:00pm AEDT/3:00am GMT on PPV
- Leon Edwards (C) (21-3-0, 1NC) vs. Colby Covington (17-3-0) – UFC Welterweight Championship
- Alexandre Pantoja (C) (26-5-0) vs. Brandon Royval (15-6-0) – UFC Flyweight Championship
- Shavkat Rakhmonov (17-0-0) vs. Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson (17-6-1)
- Tony Ferguson (26-9-0) vs. Paddy Pimblett (20-3-0)
- Vicente Luque (22-9-1) vs. Ian Machado Garry (13-0-0)
Prelims: 8:00pm ET/12:00pm AEDT/1:00am GMT
- Josh Emmett (18-4-0) vs. Bryce Mitchell (16-1-0)
- Irene Aldana (14-7-0) vs. Karol Rosa (17-5-0)
- Cody Garbrandt (13-5-0) vs. Brian Kelleher (24-14-0)
- Casey O’Neill (9-1-0) vs. Ariane Lipski (16-8-0)
Early Prelims: 6:00pm ET/10:00am AEDT/11:00pm GMT
- Alonzo Menifield (14-3-1) vs. Dustin Jacoby (19-7-1)
- Tagir Ulanbekov (14-2-0) vs. Cody Durden (16-4-1)
- Andre Fili (22-10-0, 1NC) vs. Lucas Almeida (14-2-0)
- Martin Buday (13-1-0) vs. Shamil Gaziev (11-0-0)
- Randy Brown (17-5-0) vs. Muslim Salikhov (19-4-0)
*UFC 296: Leon Edwards vs. Colby Covington fight card and bout order are subject to change.
When does UFC 296: Leon Edwards vs. Colby Covington start?
UFC 296: Leon Edwards vs. Colby Covington takes place this Saturday, 16 December (Sunday, 17 December in Australia), from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The pay-per-view main card begins at 10:00pm ET/2:00pm AEDT/3:00am GMT with an expected run time of approximately 3 hours. The prelims begin at 8:00pm ET/12:00pm AEDT/1:00am GMT, with the early prelims kicking off at 6:00pm ET/10:00am AEDT/11:00pm GMT.
Where can you watch UFC 296: Leon Edwards vs. Colby Covington?
UFC 296: Leon Edwards vs. Colby Covington takes place on UFC PPV, available from all the usual distributors. The PPV costs $59.95 in Australia and can be purchased through Foxtel’s Main Event, Kayo and UFC Fight Pass. The UFC 296: Leon Edwards vs. Colby Covington prelims are live and free on ESPN and Kayo.
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