UFC 296: Edwards vs. Covington

• UFC Undisputed Welterweight Championship Bout
• Date: Sunday, Dec 18 | Main Card Time: 04:00 GMT
• Location: T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, NV, USA

Edwards vs Covington and Pimblett vs Ferguson the pick of UFC 296

The two standout bouts from the UFC 296 card are Leon Edwards gainst Colby Covington and Paddy Pimblett against Tony Ferguson. Check out the best UFC betting sites in the UK for the latest odds.

BetVictor

(4.5/5)

Featured Bouts: Tale of the Tape 

Odds provided by Unibet. Accurate as of Nov 17.

Unibet

(4.8/5)

Betway

(4.5/5)

Featured fighters

Leon Edwards

Leon Edwards walks into this fight a slight favourite, which maybe does him a slight disservice. The welterweight champion is on an 8-year, 12-fight win streak. Two of those wins over Kamaru “Covington’s Kryptonite” Usman, at the peak of his bid for Welterweight-GOAT. Now, Edwards finds himself in rarefied air. He is now beginning his bid for Greatest Welterweight of All Time, one consecutive win behind #3 George St-Pierre in the record books.

Colby Covington

Colby “Chaos” Covington, the self-appointed heel of the UFC. Whether you love or hate him, because there is really no in-between, the man is a world-class fighter. The pace he fights at, combined with seemingly infinite stamina, is a nightmare match-up for 8.5 out of 10 fighters, it’ll be down to Edwards to decide the over/under on that.

Tony Ferguson

Tony Ferguson is an all-time great UFC fighter. His name is etched in mixed martial arts history regardless of the results of any additional bouts, or the last six. That being said, El Cucuy is a true gatekeeper who’s only faced the best in the division since his 2011 debut. He’s never touched undisputed gold, but he’s earned an interim and put together a 12-win streak at his peak. What he lost in physical ability, he gained in experience and composure.

Paddy Pimblett 

Paddy Pimblett was making quick work of the opponents put in front of him, and quickly demonstrated he was top of his class. However, in his first step up in competition against Jared Gordon, he found himself on the winning side of a very controversial decision. However, now, The Baddy finds himself in between a rock and a hard place. On his own 6 fight-win streak, he’s less than enthusiastic about being matched to Ferguson. If he wins, everyone says he “beat Ferguson on his way out”. If he loses, he “got beat by a ‘washed out’ Ferguson”. Under those pretenses, anything less than a hugely comprehensive victiory would be a moral loss for Paddy in the eyes of some and his stock in the UFC promotion machine could fall.

Prediction

Sports betting is umpredictable. MMA in general and the The UFC inparticlular are unpredictable. There are no guarantees. However, I am predicting a good night for both Edwards and Pimblett.

Covington is a machine, but that same machine couldn’t come short twice against Usman; who’s himself came up short in the last two against Edwards. The maths suggests Edwards should win, but UFC maths doesn’t always add up. Styles make fights. This one is a tough matchup for the champion, however, he’s seen the best that the UFC and Colby have seen and made quick work of it. In feel that he will come through again.

Verdict: Leon Edwards – Decision

The second featured fight goes one of two ways. Either, Paddy the Baddy puts on a clinic that becomes tough to watch. Or, Tony makes it a fight, a dog fight, and I don’t think Paddy would get the controversial nod two times in a row.

Verdict: Paddy – TKO

Different bookies see fights differently. Browse our toplists for UFC Betting and MMA betting.

10bet

(4.5/5)