Edwards vs Covington in the final tournament of the year. UFC 296. Full tournament card

Tonight in Las Vegas, USA, the final UFC tournament of the year will take place. The main event will feature a showdown between the welterweight champion, British fighter Leon Edwards, and the two-time contender from the USA, Colby Covington.

This marks Edwards' second title defense. His chance to claim the championship arose in August last year, where the Briton made the most of it by spectacularly, vividly, and forcefully knocking out Kamaru Usman in the fifth round of their rematch. Notably, it was Usman who handed Edwards his last defeat to date, back in 2015.

In March of the current year, they crossed paths for the third time. At UFC 286, Edwards reaffirmed his position as the division's strongest by outscoring Usman.

Colby Covington has contended for the title twice, losing both times to Kamaru—by knockout in December 2019 and on points in November 2021. In March of the previous year, he won on points against Jorge Masvidal and has not made an appearance in the octagon since then.

The co-main event of the tournament will be the rematch between the reigning bantamweight champion, Aljamain Sterling, and the contender from the USA, Cory Sandhagen. For the Brazilian, this marks his first title defense after he claimed the title from Brandon Moreno in July, winning by points and extending his winning streak to four matches. Sandhagen holds a three-fight winning streak and suffered his last defeat against Sterling in August 2021 when he was submitted in the second round.

UFC 296

Tournament card

Early Preliminary Card

• Shamil Gaziev (11-0) vs. Martin Buday (13-1)
• Andre Fili (22-10) vs. Lucas Almeida (14-2)
• Tagir Ulanbekov (14-2) vs. Cody Durden (16-4-1)

Preliminary Card

• Casey O'Neill (9-1) vs. Ariane Lipski (16-8)
• Cody Garbrandt (13-5) vs. Brian Kelleher (24-14)
• Irene Aldana (14-7) vs. Carol Rosa (17-5)
• Alonzo Menifield (14-3-1) vs. Dustin Jacoby (19-7-1)

Main Card

• Josh Emmett (18-4) vs. Bryce Mitchell (16-1)
• Tony Ferguson (25-9) vs. Paddy Pimblett (20-3)
• Shavkat Rakhmonov (17-0) vs. Stephen Thompson (17-6-1)
• Aljamain Sterling (20-3) vs. Cory Sandhagen (14-3)
• Leon Edwards (21-3) vs. Colby Covington (17-3)