UFC 296 predictions, preview, and analysis

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) will close out its 2023 fight campaign with the UFC 296 pay-per-view (PPV) event, headlined by the welterweight title fight pitting reigning division kingpin, Leon Edwards, against longtime title contender, Colby Covington. The action gets underway this Sat. night (Dec. 16, 2023) inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, and also features the flyweight championship showdown between newly-crowned 125-pound champion Alexandre Pantoja and red-hot “Raw Dog” Brandon Royval.

ESPN+ by clicking here and here. The latest UFC 296 odds and a complete betting guide for the entire “Edwards vs. Covington” PPV lineup can be located here.

Let’s take a look at what the PPV main card has in store for us this weekend in the “Sin City.”

canceled due to illness. As a result, the promotion has promoted the featherweight showdown between Josh Emmett and Bryce Mitchell to the PPV main card. Below is the prediction from our own Patrick Stumberg, who analyzed this fight while it was still a part of the UFC 296 “Prelims” card.

145 lbs.: Josh “The Fighting Falmer” Emmett (18-4) vs. Bryce “Thug Nasty” Mitchell (16-1)

A five-fight win streak earned Josh Emmett (18-4) a shot at interim gold against Yair Rodriguez, who handed Emmett his first-ever submission loss late in the second round (watch highlights). He returned four months later to battle Ilia Topuria in a UFC Jacksonville main event that saw Topuria brutalize Emmett for 25 minutes.

He stands four inches shorter than Bryce Mitchell (16-1) at 5’6.”

“Thug Nasty” put his 1-1 The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 27 run behind him to win his first six in the Octagon. Though he ran afoul of the aforementioned Topuria in Dec. 2022, he grinded his way back into the win column nine months later by edging out Dan Ige.

He steps in for the injured Giga Chikadze on just 10 days’ notice.

Though the short notice will definitely work in Emmett’s favor because of how cardio-intensive Mitchell’s style is, I don’t like the matchup for him at all. He doesn’t have the jab or footwork to keep Mitchell at a distance and lacks the wrestling to just big brother him the way Topuria did. Emmett needs to land that death punch of his to win, but between Mitchell’s toughness and the fact that Emmett hasn’t scored a knockout in 4.5 years, that doesn’t seem likely.

Emmett turns 39 in a few months and doesn’t have enough technical depth to his style to make up for his declining explosiveness. In the end, expect Mitchell to out-hustle him and grind his way to another ugly decision win.

Prediction: Mitchell via unanimous decision

LIVE! Watch UFC 296 PPV On ESPN+ Here!

CHAMPIONSHIP DOUBLE DIP! Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) returns home to Las Vegas, Nevada, on Sat., Dec. 16, 2023, for its final pay-per-view (PPV) event of the year. In the ESPN+-streamed PPV main event, reigning Welterweight roost-ruler, Leon Edwards, will lock horns with former 170-pound interim kingpin, Colby Covington. In UFC 296’s co-main event, Alexandre Pantoja will put his Flyweight title on the line against Brandon Royval, who earned a rematch with “The Cannibal” after winning three consecutive bouts. UFC 296 will also feature the returns of Paddy Pimblett, Shavkat Rakhmonov, Bryce Mitchell and so much more!

Don’t miss a single second of EPIC face-punching action!

MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 296 fight card right RIGHT HERE, starting with the early ESPN+ “Prelims” matches at 6:30 p.m. ET, followed by the remaining undercard balance on ESPN2/ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET, before the PPV main card start time at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+ PPV.

To check out the latest and greatest UFC 296: “Edwards vs. Covington” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here. For the updated and finalized UFC 296 fight card and ESPN+ lineup click here.