UFC 296
Review
2x And Still zum Jahresabschluss! Das Review zur Supercard von UFC 296 - jetzt für Euch in der CORNER Review.
Pure dominance
Leon Rocky Edwards left nothing to chance in the main event
Viele Fans und Experten spekulierten im Vorfeld, wie sehr sich Leon Edwards von Covingtons Trashtalk beinflussen lassen würde. Die Antwort: Gar nicht.
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Die Runden 1 und 2 glichen einer Einbahnstraßen-Show für den Champion. Covington fand überhaupt nicht in den Kampf, konnte keine nennenswerten Treffer landen. Jedoch war allen Fans klar, wie gefährlich Covington sein kann und spekulierten, ob der Amerikaner einen Gameplan hätte, worin er erst ab Runde 3 aufs Gaspedal steigen würde.
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Doch das Gegenteil war der Fall. Edwards wurde durch seine Dominanz selbstbewusster und setzte in Runde 3 zum Takedown (!) an. Er konnte Colby zu Boden bringen und ihn so in seiner eigenen Paradedisziplin demütigen. Runde 4 sah ähnlich aus. Edwards zeigte eine tolle Leistung am Boden, setzte sogar zu Submission-Finishes an. Aus diesen konnte sich Covington jedoch immer befreien.
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Als in Runde 5 schon alles in trockenen Tüchern war, zeigte der Challenger erstmals eine Leistungssteigerung. Er landete Kombinationen und Takedowns. Doch all das kam zu spät. Edwards gewann mit 4 zu 1 Runden auf allen Punkterichter-Zetteln und besiegte Covington, welcher eine der ungefährlichsten Titelkampf-Leistungen jemals zeigte, komplett eindeutig.
5 rounds of flyweight action
Pantoja left an ambitious Royval running into empty space
The co-main event was similarly dominant. Alexandre Pantoja and Brendon Royval exchanged spectacular blows while standing, but as soon as the fight went to the ground, the Brazilian champion was untouchable by the American challenger.
Pantoja landed at least one takedown in every round, putting Royval in his place. He inflicted significant damage on his opponent in ground and pound, winning 50-45, 49-46, and 50-45.
In the post-fight interview, Pantoja apologized for what he considered a rather unspectacular fight. At the end of the day, however, he won't care. The flyweight belt will remain in Brazil.
Shavkat, Paddy & Josh
The real show is on these men
In addition to the two tactically focused main events, the remaining athletes on the main card ensured that the fans in the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas got their money's worth.
Josh Emmett kicked things off, unleashing a right overhand so powerful after less than two minutes that Bryce Mitchell couldn't get up on his own for several minutes afterward. He also earned the $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus.
In the second fight of the main card, Paddy "The Baddy" Pimblett delivered a highly committed performance in an emotionally charged battle with Tony Ferguson. Pimblett was able to give Ferguson a good beating in the second round, but El Cucuy, as always, showed tremendous resilience and even threatened again in the third round. In the end, Paddy survived and held the upper hand, handing Tony Ferguson his seventh consecutive UFC loss.
The third fight on the main card was between Shavkat Rakhmonov and Stephen Thompson. This one played out just as the bookmakers would have expected. Shavkat dominated the first round in the clinch. Wonderboy barely made an impact before being knocked down at the end of the second round and forced to submit via rear-naked choke. Shavkat now has 18 finishes in 18 fights and is now the newest "real deal" in the welterweight division.
What happens next?
Welterweight Matchups...
After the two welterweight showdowns on Saturday, the rumor mill is naturally bubbling about what will happen next in this division.
After Colby Covington's almost embarrassing performance, he'll likely never get close to a title shot again. In the post-fight press conference, he challenged the also-defeated Stephen "Wonderboy" Thompson. This probably makes the most sense to us, since Colby would never be able to compete against the top five welterweight contenders with that kind of performance.
Two fights are possible for Edwards: either a rematch against the No. 2 welterweight contender, Belal Muhammad, or a direct clash with Shavkat Rakhmonov. His first fight against Belal ended in a no-contest after an unintentional eye poke from the Briton. One thing is clear: both of these challengers will pose much bigger problems for Edwards than Covington did at UFC 296.
We'd also like to say goodbye to you from the 2023 fighting year. Thank you for your support! We'll be back from our winter break in 2024 with a podcast and new articles! Until then, all the best!