UFC 296: Edwards remains Welterweight champ; Pantoja successfully defends Flyweight title

UFC 296 results:The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) 296 officially came to an end on Sunday (Dec 17) with current Welterweight champion Leon Edwards (United Kingdom) and Flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja (Brazil) successfully defending their titles at the T-Mobile Arena in Nevada. Leon Edwards' fight with Colby Covington (United States) was the main event, while the co-main event was the Flyweight bout between Alexandre Pantoja and Brandon Royval (United States).

Despite the main and co-main events being title defences, two other fights- Shavkat Rakhmonov (Kazakhstan) vs Stephen Thompson (United States) and Paddy Pimblett (United Kingdom) vs Tony Ferguson (United States) also garnered major attraction by the Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) community.

Main event: Leon Edwards vs Colby Covington (Welterweight title fight)

Leon Edwards defeated Colby Covington by unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 49-46), and successfully defended his Welterweight title for the second time. In the first two rounds of the five-round fight, Edwards stayed on his feet and picked his shots in low output. In the third round, Covington finally managed to get Edwards to the canvas. The American had a little more success in the fourth round, but Edwards managed to land good shots, neutralised his wrestling effectively, and kept Covington working at a far more reduced pace than usual.

In the fifth and final round of the fight, Edwards had far greater attacks on the ground, attacking a triangle choke and minimising the effectiveness of Covington in the top position down the stretch.

"I know I'm the better athlete. I can match him (Covington) with cardio. I can match him with technique and range to shut him down, and that's what I did. I wanted to grapple with him, I'm a mixed martial artist. I wanted to come out here and prove my case, out-grapple a grappler. This is my second title defense, I've tied GSP for most wins in a row, I'll just keep doing what I'm doing," the Englishman said in his post-fight interview.

Co-main event: Alexandre Pantoja vs Brandon Royval (Flyweight title fight)

Alexander Pantoja retained his Flyweight title after a unanimous decision (50-45, 50-45, 49-46) win over Brandon Royval. Throughout the five-round fight, Pantoja displayed superior grappling, taking Royval down multiple times and keeping him on the canvas for longer periods. The champion threatened the title challenger with submission attempts and advancing to dominant positions.

The fighting ended with Royval gassing out, giving the Brazilian an opportunity to go for a takedown.

"This fight was maybe too boring, but Brandon Royval was a tough guy to fight. I watched him coming and I knew he was going to come for the belt. I needed to keep this belt for my family, for Brazil. They need idols right now. Keep working for your home and your kids, that's the most important thing in life," Pantoja said in his post-fight interview.

Shavkat Rakhmonov vs Stephen Thompson (Welterweight division fight)

Shavkat Rakhmonov remains undefeated in the UFC and might soon head for a Welterweight title fight. On Sunday, the Kazakh defeated Stephen Thompson by submission in the final seconds of the second round. Rakhmonov dominated the fight.

After failing to get the fight to the ground, he managed to put Thompson on the deck in the second, and after missing his initial choke, the Kazakh managed to get a rear-naked choke with Thompson tapping out.

Paddy Pimblett vs Tony Ferguson (Lightweight division fight)

Paddy Pimblett proved earlier predictions wrong as he defeated Tony Ferguson by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27). Pimblett boxed up and out-grappled the American.

The Englishman had been out of the octagon for over a year. Pimblett battered Ferguson on the feet in the first before controlling things on the canvas in the second. In the third and final round, Pimblett was able to put the American on the canvas and grind out the clock from the top position, neutralising Ferguson’s attempts to find openings.

>Josh Emmett defeats Bryce Mitchell by KO (right hand) at 1:57 of Round 1.

>Alonzo Menifield defeats Dustin Jacoby by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28).

>Irene Aldana defeats Karol Rosa by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28).

>Cody Garbrandt defeats Brian Kelleher by KO (right hand) at 3:42 of Round 1.

>Ariane Lipski defeats Casey O’Neill by submission (armbar) at 1:18 of Round 2.

>Tagir Ulanbekov defeats Cody Durden by submission (rear-naked choke) at 4:25 of Round 2.

>Andre Fili defeats Lucas Almeida by TKO (strikes) at 3:32 of Round 1.

>Shamil Gaziev defeats Martin Buday by TKO (strikes) at 0:56 of Round 2.