The Wonderboy, The Baddy, The Cannibal, Rocky and Chaos walk into T-Mobile Arena… this isn’t an opening line for a bad joke, it’s some of the many big-name fighters partaking in UFC 296 this weekend.
This is by far the biggest card of the year and I cannot wait for some Performance of the Night Bonuses to be handed out like an episode of the Opera Winfrey Show.
For the last pay-per-view of the year, I’ll be breaking down every fight on the main card.
Can the self-proclaimed American champ Colby Covington shock the world?
Can Paddy Pimbett conquer his biggest test yet?
My thoughts on UFC 296 Edwards vs Convington can be found below.
England’s own Leon Edwards has stepped into the cage with some dangerous opponents, but Colby ‘Chaos’ Covington is a different beast.
Chaos will play to his strengths (which according to him is everything) but for me, it’s his ground game.
The 2-time NCAA All-American is not a man to mess with, having wrestled for Iowa and Central Iowa Community College, this bout is going to the ground early.
Former Welterweight champion Kamara Usman noticeably dominated on the ground against Edwards before being clocked in the 5th round, which is something Covington can take clear advantage of.
This isn’t a time for Covington to entertain the fans and toy with Edwards, especially with a championship belt on the line so I’m expecting a more business-like approach.
Although there’s plenty of value in taking Covington to win head-to-head, however, I’ll be taking Covington to secure the win via KO/TKO or Points.
Alexandre Pantoja is defending his Flyweight title for the first time since claiming it against Moreno and he’s coming against an old rival and second ranked Brandon Royval.
Pantoja is on a four-fight unbeaten streak and I can see that changing to five this weekend.
This run of good form has included a pair of wins via submission and the other two have been via points.
Based on those numbers I’ll be taking Pantoja to regain his title by way of Submission or Points.
Shavkat Rakhmonov is locked in for his bout with Stephen Thompson which I believe is the most underrated fight on the entire card.
The 29-year-old has finished every opponent the matchmakers have put in front of him including four submissions and one KO.
Stephen Thompson has always been one bout away from that title fight and when he falls short, he must win another few to be in contention once again.
Thompson will stay strong in the first round, however I’ll be taking the focused and highly skilled Shavkat Rakhmonov to finish this fight in the second round.
Future UFC Hall of Famer Tony Ferguson has a task ahead of him, as he steps into the cage with the popular Paddy “The Baddy” Pimblett.
Ferguson has prepared for this bout like no other, training with David Goggins in his very own ‘Hell Week’ and being the first person to complete it.
To have the mentality to complete something like ‘Hell Week’ shows that he’s in the right mindset to win this fight and I’ll be taking him for that reason alone.
I know, I know he’s lost six straight, but this could potentially be his last pro bout and he has gone all out and make it his best one yet.
Tony Ferguson has only been knocked out twice since May 2020, which says a lot because he had the best chin in the UFC.
I’ll be taking the terrific value of Ferguson to win via KO/TKO or Points.
Ian Garry has pulled out of his bout against Luque due to pneumonia, which means Josh Emmett vs Bryce “Thug Nasty” Mitchell has been elevated from a feature prelim to the main card.
Two of the most underrated fighters in the featherweight division will go toe-to-toe with the winner set to boost his stocks for a future title shot.
Since May 2020, Thug Nasty has gone the distance in four of his last five fights.
With the odds and the fans in his favour, I can’t go past Bryce Mitchell to win this bout via decision.