UFC 296 LIVE: Leon Edwards vs Colby Covington fight updates and results tonight

Re-live the action after Britain’s Edwards defended the welterweight title against the controversial American

Leon Edwards reveals Colby Covington's father joke made him 'cry with rage'

Leon Edwards retained the UFC welterweight title with a clinical performance against Colby Covington on Saturday, easing to a points win in Las Vegas.

The Jamaican-born Britan showed off his superiority in the striking exchanges and even out-grappled the wrestling specialist for periods of the fight, which headlined UFC 296 at the T-Mobile Arena.

The controversial Covington, 35, is famed for his offensive wrestling and relentless pressure, but he was surprisingly inactive against Edwards, 32. The champion was able to pick off the American at range, while denying the majority of Covington’s sporadic takedown attempts.

In one of Edwards’s most impressive moments, he stuffed a takedown before nailing Covington with a head kick, before proceeding to take down his challenger – as if to make a point.

Covington, who had ex-US president Donald Trump supporting him from ringside, was able to employ his grappling more effectively in the fifth and final round, ending the fight on top. However, it was too little and too late for the American, who was beaten 49-46 on all three scorecards.

Re-live updates and results from the prelims, main card and main event of UFC 296, below.

UFC 296 LIVE

• Leon Edwards picks apart Colby Covington to retain welterweight title
• Alexandre Pantoja retains flyweight title vs Brandon Royval in co-main event
• Liverpool’s Paddy Pimblett dominates lightweight legend Tony Ferguson
• Shavkat Rakhmonov submits Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson
• Josh Emmett crumples Bryce Mitchell with hellacious KO
• Donald Trump arrives at UFC 296 to support friend Covington

[17 December 2023 02:26 · Alex Pattle]

UFC 296 LIVE: Irene Aldana vs Karol Rosa

Irene Aldana def. Karol Rosa via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28).

That one really could have gone either way. Rosa did a lot of damage to Aldana’s lead leg, but Aldana managed to keep coming forward, and she hurt Rosa badly to the head time and again.

What a battle that was. Potentially the women’s fight of the year.

[17 December 2023 02:23 · Alex Pattle]

UFC 296 LIVE: Irene Aldana vs Karol Rosa

Round 3

Rosa shoots for a single-leg takedown, but there’s nothing doing. Stern jab by Aldana.

Rosa staggers Aldana with another heavy low kick then lands a nice right overhand.

Lovely left hook to the body by Aldana, and Rosa is retreating! Now Aldana targets the head of Rosa, and the cut around Rosa’s left eye is leaking blood!

Hard left hook by Rosa, but Aldana attacks the body to good effect again; her coaches are calling for more body shots!

Beautiful left hook to the body by Aldana then an uppercut to the head.

Rosa’s face is a bloody mess now. She’s eating shots... but she roars back! What a final round!

[17 December 2023 02:17 · Alex Pattle]

UFC 296 LIVE: Irene Aldana vs Karol Rosa

Round 2

Sharp jab by Rosa, who then resumes her assault on the lead leg of Aldana. She’s landed 25 low kicks – and counting.

Aldana cracks Rosa with a nice one-two, though. Beautiful right cross by Aldana, and Rosa doesn’t like that one bit!

Rosa fires back, however her left eye is starting to sport some damage here.

OH! A clean right cross lands for Aldana late in the round! That one really cracked Rosa’s jaw.

[17 December 2023 02:11 · Alex Pattle]

UFC 296 LIVE: Irene Aldana vs Karol Rosa

Round 1

Both women stand orthodox. Rosa with an overhand right and low kick on the opposite side. Now Aldana kicks low.

Aldana pops Rosa with a jab. Rosa comes back with a right cross and another inside low kick. And she repeats the combination two more times.

Now an outside low kick on the right, and Aldana stumbles! That lead leg is taking a battering. Then Rosa times a one-two perfectly.

Aldana catches Rosa on the end of a left hook upstairs. More leg kicks by Rosa, and Aldana’s lead leg buckles again and again. Her stance is so wide.

A couple of nice straight punches land for Aldana late in the round, though.

[17 December 2023 02:03 · Alex Pattle]

UFC 296 LIVE: Prelim updates

Okay, here are the result so far tonight:

Cody Garbrandt def. Brian Kelleher via first-round KO (3:42)

Ariane Lipski def. Casey O’Neill via second-round submission (armbar, 1:18)

Tagir Ulanbekov def. Cody Durden via second-round submission (rear naked choke, 4:25)

Andre Fili def. Lucas Almeida via first-round TKO (3:32)

Shamil Gaziev def. Martin Buday via second-round TKO (0:56)

We begin our live coverage with a women’s bantamweight bout between Irene Aldana and Karol Rosa!

[17 December 2023 01:51 · Alex Pattle]

UFC 296 LIVE: Man Utd legend Rio Ferdinand chokes Leon Edwards

Right, just before our fight updates begin in a few minutes (don’t go anywhere!), here’s a fun bit of content...

Manchester United legend and ex-England defender Rio Ferdinand visited Edwards at his gym in Birmingham recently.

Here’s what happened...

[17 December 2023 01:35 · Alex Pattle]

UFC 296 LIVE: Edwards vs Covington fight preview and analysis

More thoughts on tonight’s main event:

Arguably, the likeliest route to victory for Edwards is a TKO as Covington lurches forward. Meanwhile, the worst-case scenario could be a fight in which he is overwhelmed and simply cannot get going or set his feet.

The champion must also be disciplined; his recent fights have featured a point deduction in March, an accidental eye poke that led to a No Contest against Belal Muhammad in 2021, and a late scare in his win over Nate Diaz that year, when Edwards dominated but was rocked in the final minute.

All in all, composure will be key to Edwards cracking Covington’s code.

Full preview:

[17 December 2023 01:20 · Alex Pattle]

UFC 296 LIVE: Regular prelims under way

The regular prelims are now under way. Just a reminder that our round-by-round updates will begin in a couple of fights’ time. At that time, we’ll also provide a round-up of all tonight’s results so far.

[17 December 2023 01:05 · Alex Pattle]

UFC 296 LIVE: Edwards vs Covington is technique against tenacity

Edwards has always had a calm aura about him, but he is tenacious; to highlight that Covington has that same quality in abundance is not to suggest that Edwards doesn’t. Similarly, to praise the beauty and efficiency of Edwards’s eclectic techniques is not to suggest that Covington is entirely raw or reckless. However, he is often wild.

The likelihood in tonight’s main event is that Covington, a cardio machine, will bear down on Edwards for as many of the 25 scheduled minutes as possible, forcing “Rocky” onto the back foot and to compromise on technique. The task for Edwards, then, will be to maintain that technique and to pick holes in the American’s frantic and sometimes faulty striking.

More thoughts on how Edwards vs Covington might play out – and why – here:

[17 December 2023 00:50 · Alex Pattle]

UFC 296 LIVE: Colby Covington wears jacket featuring Donald Trump’s mugshot

Covington carried out his media-day duties for UFC 296 while sporting a jacket featuring Donald Trump’s mugshot.

Ex-US president Trump, who has expressed his intention to be present in Las Vegas tonight, is known to be friends with the controversial Covington.

Trump has attended numerous UFC events in recent years – and as recently as UFC 295 in November – and Covington paid tribute to the 77-year-old on Wednesday by turning up to a media day with a jacket featuring Trump’s mugshot.

More here: