UFC 296: EDWARDS vs. COVINGTON

• UFC Undisputed Welterweight Championship Bout
• Date: Sat, Dec 17 | Main Card Time: 11 PM ET
• Location: T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, NV
• How to watch live: Order on UFC Fight Pass

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Featured Tales of the Tape 

Moneylines & Storylines

Moneylines

Storylines

Leon Edwards (-125)

Leon Edwards walks into this fight a slight favorite, which is a slight disrespect. 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, Edward finds himself in rarefied air. Himself now beginning his bid for Greatest Welterweight of All Time, one consecutive win behind #3 George St-Pierre in the record books.

Colby Covington (+105)

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 a seemingly infinite stamina bar, is a nightmare match-up for 8.5 out of 10 fighters, it’ll be to Edwards to decide the over/under on that.

Tony Ferguson (+260)

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 6… 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 (-325)

Paddy Pimblett was making quick work of the opponents put in front of him, a 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. Emphasized by the fact, that most people wanted him to win, so to cause that kind of stir does infer a bit. However, now, The Baddy finds himself in between a right 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’ Ferguson”. Under those pretenses, anything less than an absolute whooping would be a moral loss for Paddy and his stock in the UFC promotion machine.

Prediction

The UFC, and sports betting, is unpredictable, and there are no guarantees. That being said,  here is my prediction and personal GUARANTEE (Charles Barkley). 

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 math suggests Leon should win, but UFC math doesn’t care for sense. Styles make fights. This one is a tough matchup for the champ, however, he’s seen the best that the UFC and Colby have seen and made quick work of it. Headshot. Dead.

Verdict: Leon Edwards – Dec

The second featured fight goes one of two ways. Either, Paddy 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

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