UFC 296 fight card, date, time, how to watch, Edwards vs Covington

UFC 296: Edwards vs Covington airs live on pay-per-view from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, NV on Saturday, December 16. The final PPV fight card for the year features a series of MMA bouts with two titles contested on the night.

In the UK and Australia, the event airs live on Sunday, December 17.

UFC 296 PPV card

In the UFC 296 main event, Birmingham, England-based UFC welterweight champion Leon Edwards makes the second defense of his title against former interim champion Colby Covington of the United States. The latter makes his third attempt to claim a major belt. The championship bout is scheduled for five rounds.

32-year-old southpaw Edwards (21-3,1 NC) of Kingston, Jamaica claimed the title by knockout against Kamaru Usman last August and successfully defended by majority decision in their rematch in March. 35-year-old Covington (17-3) of Clovis, California won his previous bout by unanimous decision against Jorge Masvidal last March.

In the five-round co-main event, riding a four-win streak, UFC flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja of Brazil makes the first defense of his title against Brandon Royval of the United States. 33-year-old Pantoja (26-5) earned the title in July, when he dethroned Brandon Moreno by majority decision. No. 4-ranked 31-year-old contender Royval KO’d Matheus Nicolau in the first round in April and secured his third win in a row.

Also on the UFC 296 PPV card, unbeaten Shavkat Rakhmonov (17-0) of Kazakhstan and Stephen Thompson (17-6-1) of the United States square off at welterweight. As well, Tony Ferguson (26-9) of the United States and Paddy Pimblett (20-3) of England battle it out at lightweight. Kicking off the action, Vicente Luque (22-9-1) of Brazil and Ian Machado Garry (13-0) of Ireland clash at welterweight.

UFC 296 prelims

The top of UFC 296 preliminary card pits Josh Emmett (18-4) against Bryce Mitchell (16-2) in an all-American battle at featherweight. Also on the card a pair of bantamweight bouts, featuring Irene Aldana (14-7) of Mexico up against Karol Rosa (17-5) of Brazil and Cody Garbrandt (13-5) versus fellow-American Brian Kelleher (24-14). Plus, Casey O’Neill (9-1) of Australia and Ariane Lipski (16-8) of Brazil go head-to-head at women’s flyweight.

Among the UFC 296 early prelims, Alonzo Menifield (14-3-1) and Dustin Jacoby (19-7-1) meet in an all-American contest at light heavyweight. As well, Tagir Ulanbekov (14-2) faces Cody Durden (16-4-1) of the United States at flyweight, Andre Fili (22-10) of the United States takes on Lucas Almeida (14-2) of Brazil at featherweight and Martin Buday (13-1) of Slovakia meets Shamil Gaziev (11-0) of Bahrain at heavyweight. In addition, Randy Brown (17-5) of Jamaica fights Muslim Salikhov (19-4) at welterweight.

UFC 296: Edwards vs Covington date & time in USA

MMA fans in the United States can watch UFC 296: Edwards vs Covington live stream on ESPN+ PPV. The date is Saturday, December 16. The start time is 10 pm ET / 7 pm PT.

The preliminary card starts at 8 pm ET / 5 pm PT. The early prelims begin at 6 pm ET / 3 pm PT.

Order PPV on ESPN+

UFC 296: Edwards vs Covington date & time in UK

MMA fans in the United Kingdom can watch UFC 296: Edwards vs Covington live stream on TNT Sports Box Office. The date is Sunday, December 17. The start time is 3 am GMT.

The preliminary card starts at 1 am GMT. The early prelims begin at 11 pm GMT on Saturday, December 16.

UFC 296: Edwards vs Covington date & time in Australia

MMA fans in Australia can watch UFC 296: Edwards vs Covington live stream on Kayo. The date is Sunday, December 17. The start time is 2 pm AEDT.

The preliminary card starts at 12 pm AEDT. The early prelims begin at 10 am AEDT.

Order PPV on Kayo