It’s another huge night of MMA action with the UFC coming to the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas for a World Championship double-header in Sin City. In the first of two main events Flyweight Champion Alexandre Pantoja defends against American Brandon Royval, and in the headline fight Birmingham’s own Leon Edwards defends his Welterweight Championship against ths self-confessed ‘bad boy of UFC’ Colby Covington.
Many believe Covington has been ‘gifted’ the title shot following a long spell of inactivity after beating long-time training partner and friend turned enemy, Jorge Masvidal. Regardless, the hype and the pomp and circumstance in the build-up should bring lots of eyeballs onto the sport from either side of the Atlantic Ocean and it will be fascinating to see what reception both men get in the early hours of Sunday morning.
Leon Edwards v Colby Covington
Edwards will undoubtedly enter the bout as favourite, and many feel Covington’s chances are slim, especially if the fight plays out on the feet. MMA fans will have seen recent upsets in the Bantamweight and Middleweight divisions. Could this underdog streak be continuing in the Welterweight division?
Stacked undercard
The undercard for UFC 296 holds several very interesting matchups. Alexandre Pantoja will defend his Flyweight title for the first time, facing Brandon Royval once again. Royval’s last loss came against Pantoja back in 2021, but has since been on a 3-fight win streak including 2 first-round finishes.
The feared Shavkat Rakhmonov takes on the nicest fighter on the UFC Roster, Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson. With a perfect record and a 100% finish rate, Wonderboy will need to be on top of his game to be in with a chance of taking the W in this one.
Paddy Pimblett v Tony Ferguson
Proud Scouser, Paddy Pimblett also makes his return to the Octagon after an 11-month hiatus, taking on the legendary Tony Ferguson. Many are calling this a lose-lose situation for Paddy given Ferguson is past his prime and on a 6 fight losing skid. Paddy needs to make a statement here, following a fortunate decision (in the eyes of many on social media) in his last fight against Jared Gordon.
Selections
Pimblett to beat Ferguson by TKO
Alexandre Pantoja v Brandon Royval ‘To go the distance’
Shavkat Rakhmonov v Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson Under 1.5 Rounds
The bets suggested in this article do not guarantee that you will win, and odds can change after the publishing of this article. Please Gamble Responsibly.
Supercharge your MMA bets with kwiff.
By Kyle Gaw
