UFC 296 Leon Edwards vs. Colby Covington live results and analysis،
LAS VEGAS — The stakes were high between Leon Edwards and Colby Covington during the pre-fight press conference Thursday.
Covington raised Edwards' father, who was murdered when Edwards was a teenager. Covington said he would take Edwards to the “seventh lair of hell” and perhaps Edwards would meet his father there. Edwards responded by throwing a full water bottle at Covington. The two men had to be separated.
Edwards will defend his UFC welterweight title against Covington at UFC 296 Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena. Edwards is as sexy as any fighter in the world. He took home four trophies Thursday night at the Fighters Only World MMA Awards, including Fighter of the Year. ESPN ranks Edwards at No. 4 pound-for-pound in the world.
Edwards (21-3, 1 NC) is undefeated in 12 consecutive fights dating back to 2015, the second-longest such streak in welterweight history (tied with Georges St-Pierre). The Jamaican-born England resident is coming off back-to-back wins against former pound-for-pound king Kamaru Usman. Edwards, 32, has victories over Usman, Nate Diaz, Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone and Rafael dos Anjos.
Covington (17-3) hasn't fought since a unanimous decision victory over Jorge Masvidal at UFC 272 in March 2022. The California native, who lives and trains in Florida, lost to just one man – Usman – since 2015. Covington, 35, is a former UFC interim welterweight champion.
In the co-main event, Alexandre Pantoja will defend his UFC flyweight title against Brandon Royval. Pantoja (26-5) has won three straight and won the belt from Brandon Moreno at UFC 290 in July. Royval (15-6) has won three in a row since falling to Pantoja in 2021.
Also on the card, promising Paddy Pimblett will take on seasoned veteran Tony Ferguson in a critical lightweight bout, stalwart Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson will attempt to slow the meteoric rise of welterweight bluechipper Shavkat Rakhmonov and Josh Emmett will take on Bryce. Mitchell in a battle of featherweight contenders.
Follow Marc Raimondi, Jeff Wagenheim and Dre Waters recap the action as it happens, or watch the fights live on ESPN+ PPV.
