UFC 296: Full card and start time as Leon Edwards defends welterweight crown against Colby Covington

When it comes to the UFC, there is always drama which surrounds the fighters, the card or even the show itself.

However, many would argue that UFC 296 has already overdelivered when it comes to pure box office entertainment.

Edwards against Covington is a thriller in the making, but this is more than just your typical title fight.

The Brit enters this bout following back-to-back brawls against Kamaru Usman – including the infamous head kick finish from their first meeting back in August 2022.

Covington, meanwhile, enters his first fight since his decision victory over Jorge Masvidal back in March 2022.

To add to the drama, former United States President Donald Trump is rumoured to hand Covington the belt should the self-proclaimed MAGA-fan get the job done in Vegas.

Elsewhere on the card, the return of Paddy Pimblett and his clash with Tony Ferguson is arguably one of the most anticipated fights of the night. 

The young British pretender has a point to prove following his controversial points victory over Jared Gordon.

Ferguson, on the other hand, is determined to finally snap his six-fight losing run and get his arm raised for the first time since June 2019.

The co-main event is also a potential slobberknocker as Alexandre Pantoja puts his flyweight championship on the line against Brandon Royval.

Pantoja is making his first defence of the title since taking the gold from Brandon Moreno back in July of this year.

There is, of course, one man who made more headlines than anyone else on the card.

Ian Machado Garry, who was due to take on Vicente Luque, has pulled out due to pneumonia.

Garry, who is the UFC’s next big prospect, has been the laughingstock of social media in the lead up to his fight with many ridiculing his 40-year-old wife Layla for writing a book called ‘How to be a WAG?’ over a decade ago.

Every MMA-related YouTube channel, pundit and expert has seemingly expressed their opinion on the Ian Garry drama, leading to the 13-0 fighter trending on social media on numerous occasions.

While Garry may not be on the card, the event is still expected to produce fireworks. Fans in the UK can turn in from 11:30pm GMT on Saturday night, with the main card set to begin at around 1am.

The event will be broadcast in the UK on TNT Sports Box Office. Below is the full card.

UFC 296: Main card

UFC Welterweight Championship
Leon Edwards vs Colby Covington

UFC Flyweight Championship
Alexandre Pantoja vs Brandon Royval

Welterweight bout
Shavkat Rakhmonov vs Stephen Thompson

Lightweight bout
Tony Ferguson vs Paddy Pimblett

Preliminary Card

Featherweight bout
Josh Emmett vs Bryce Mitchell

Women’s bantamweight bout
Irene Aldana vs Karol Rosa

Bantamweight bout
Cody Garbrandt vs Brian Kelleher

Women’s flyweight 
Casey O’Neill vs Ariane Lipski

Early preliminary card

Light-heavyweight bout
Alonzo Menifield vs Dustin Jacoby

Flyweight bout
Tagir Ulanbekov vs Cody Durden

Feathweight bout
Andre Fili vs Lucas Almeida

Heavyweight bout
Martin Buday vs Shamil Gaziev

Welterweight bout
Randy Brown vs Muslim Salikhov