Breaking: Dana White Announces Two Title Fights For UFC 296 In December
UFC CEO Dana White recently revealed who’ll be competing at the UFC 296 event to close out 2023. The highly anticipated pay-ver-view will go down on December 11 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
White took to social media and uploaded a piece-to-camera video in his usual hype fashion. He declared that Leon Edwards would go up against Colby Covington in a welterweight title fight for the main event. A flyweight title rematch between Alexandre Pantoja and Brandon Royal will serve as the co-main event.
The UFC 296 event would mark Edwards’ second title defense. He last defeated Kamaru Usman at UFC 286 via majority decision in his second consecutive victory over ‘The Nigerian Nightmare.’ In their first meeting, Edwards snatched the 170-pound strap away from Usman with a stunning fifth-round knockout. All in all, ‘Rocky’ is undefeated over the past eight years and is on a 12-fight winning streak.
On the other hand, Colby Covington will return to the octagon after almost two years for this third championship bid. He last dispatched his former teammate Jorge Masvidal at UFC 272 in March 2022 via unanimous decision. Covington’s victory over Masvidal stopped his two-fight losing streak, both losses coming against Usman.
The co-main event story sounds a bit different. Alexandre Pantoja faces his first title challenge against Brandon Royval. ‘The Cannibal’ last claimed the flyweight throne from Brandon Moreno at UFC 290 via split decision. His championship win came after three consecutive statement victories, including a second-round submission over Royval.
Meanwhile, Royval’s loss against Pantoja seems to have done him a world of good. He hasn’t tasted defeat since then and has brushed past three rivals consecutively.
Interestingly, Dana White made no mention of Conor McGregor or Michael Chandler competing this year. With 2023’s pay-per-view planned and ready, it seems highly unlikely that any more high-profile bouts make the cut.
