Leon Edwards will defend his welterweight title against Colby Covington in the main event of UFC 296, while Alexandre Pantoja will defend his flyweight belt against Brandon Royval in the co-main event.
Leon Edwards is preparing to defend his welterweight title against Colby Covington as the main event of UFC 296, slated for Dec. 11. The co-lead event is a flyweight title rematch between Alexandre Pantoja and Brandon Royval. Dana White, UFC CEO, confirmed the matches on Wednesday.
Edwards is on his second title defense having defeated Kamaru Usman in the previous UFC pay-per-view of the year, marking his second consecutive victory over the former welterweight champion. Edwards first claimed the title with a stunning fifth-round knockout of Usman during UFC 278 and has maintained a twelve-fight undefeated run in the division since.
Covington, the always-outspoken former interim title-holder, makes his comeback after nearly two years of inactivity. He had previously defeated his ex-teammate Jorge Masvidal in March 2022 and is now on his third attempt to clinch the undisputed UFC welterweight champion title. Despite failing to realize this ambition in two previous attempts against Usman, Covington is hopeful of wrestling the belt from Edwards this time around.
In the co-main event, Pantoja prepares for his first title defense following a hard-earned split decision victory over Brandon Moreno in July. Pantoja has enjoyed a streak of four consecutive wins including a submission triumph over Royval in 2021. On the other hand, Royval has not lost since his fight against Pantoja, managing to conquer his last three opponents successively. The 31-year-old flyweight is now looking to avenge his defeat to Pantoja and tally his first UFC champion win. UFC 296 will be held on Dec. 11 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.