The final UFC card of 2022 was set to decide who would sit upon the welterweight throne, while a flyweight title fight served as co-headliner at UFC 296.
Going down this Saturday, December 16, 2023 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, NV, it was champ Leon Edwards, fresh off back-to-back victories over Kamaru Usman, taking on perennial contender Colby “Chaos” Covington. The former interim champ was getting his third crack at undisputed gold, at the expense of contenders like Belal Muhammad.
With Stephen Thompson vs. Shavkat Rakhmonov also on the bill, it was a big night for the 170lb weight class — though another welterweight fight, Ian Garry vs. Vicente Luque, had fallen through with Garry going down to pneumonia.
In the co-main event, new flyweight champ Alexandre Pantoja put his belt on the line against Brandon Royval.
Weigh-ins for UFC 296: Edwards vs. Covington take place Friday in Las Vegas; check below for results.
All fighters weighed in successfully for UFC 296 on Friday morning, including both back-ups. Irene Aldana hit the scales last and was the only fighter to use the barrier, but hit 136lbs on the nose.
UFC 296: Edwards vs. Covington Weigh-In Results
Main card
Welterweight: Leon Edwards (c) (170) vs. Colby Covington (169.5) — for the UFC welterweight championship
Flyweight: Alexandre Pantoja (c) (125) vs. Brandon Royval (124.5) — for the UFC flyweight championship
Welterweight: Shavkat Rakhmonov (171) vs. Stephen Thompson (171)
Lightweight: Tony Ferguson (155.5) vs. Paddy Pimblett (155.5)
Featherweight: Josh Emmett (146) vs. Bryce Mitchell (145.5)
Preliminary card
Light Heavyweight: Alonzo Menifield (204.5) vs. Dustin Jacoby (204.5)
Women’s Bantamweight: Irene Aldana (136) vs. Karol Rosa (135.5)
Bantamweight: Cody Garbrandt (136) vs. Brian Kelleher (136)
Women’s Flyweight: Casey O’Neill (125) vs. Ariane Lipski (126)
Early preliminary card
Flyweight: Tagir Ulanbekov (126) vs. Cody Durden (126)
Featherweight: Andre Fili (145.5) vs. Lucas Almeida (146)
Heavyweight: Martin Buday (264.5) vs. Shamil Gaziev (259.5)
Welterweight: Belal Muhammad (169.5) — backup fighter
Flyweight: Brandon Moreno (125) — backup fighter
