The UFC Welterweight Championship is on the line when champion, Leon Edwards defends his title against perennial contender Colby Covington in the main event of UFC 296.
For gamblers and hardcore MMA fans alike, why not try to make a little money while watching the fights this weekend?
Let's jump into UFC 296's main event and see who's likely to walk out of Las Vegas draped in gold.
Tale of The Tape
Leon Edwards
- Record: 21-3-1 (7 knockouts, 3 submissions)
- Age: 32
- Nationality: English, Jamaican
- Height: 6'0
- Reach: 74"
Colby Covington
- Record: 17-3-1 (1 knockout, 1 submission)
- Age: 35
- Nationality: American
- Height: 5'11
- Reach: 72"
Betting Breakdown
Leon Edwards heads into his second title defense at UFC 296. 'Rocky' began his UFC tenure with a modest 2-2 record before going on his current 11 win (with one no contest) run. Edwards' dominant route to UFC gold saw the Englishmen secure victories over the likes of Dominic Waters, Albert Tumenov, Vicente Luque, Bryan Barberena, Donald 'Cowboy' Cerrone, Gunnar Nelson, Rafael dos Anjos, and Nate Diaz before his highlight knockout of longtime 185-pound king, Kamaru Usman to earn himself the UFC welterweight title.
Edwards would prove his last-second, fifth round KO of Usman wasn't a fluke as he'd earn a unanimous decision nod over the future UFC Hall of Famer seven months later to put the rivalry to bed.
Upon his arrival in the UFC in 2014, Colby Covington was seemingly destined for a title. However, 'Chaos' has gotten as close to tasting undisputed gold without ever being able to do so...thus far. Covington secured three-straight wins to begin his career in the UFC before being submitted by Warlley Alves at UFC 194 to suffer not only his first promotional defeat, but the first loss of his professional MMA career. Covington would get right back on track, however, rattling off seven consecutive wins, knocking off Jonathan Meunier, Max Griffin, Bryan Barberena, Dong Hyun Kim, Demian Maia, Rafael dos Anjos (for the interim UFC Welterweight Championship), and Robbie Lawler, which earned him an opportunity against aforementioned former welterweight champion, Kamaru Usman.
Unfortunately for Covington, he'd be on the wrong end of last-second TKO as despite the judge's impending decision being extremely close, Usman was able to do just enough to get the referee to wave off the bout with just 50-seconds remaining in the fifth and final round. After a dominant TKO victory over Tyron Woodley, Covington would get another crack at Usman, and this time, he'd fall short yet again, this time by unanimous decision. Covington will be looking to make it two-straight wins at UFC 296 as the California-native is coming off of a dominant unanimous decision victory over Jorge Masvidal at UFC 272.
When it comes to the betting spectrum of this one, oddsmakers see it as a closely contested bout, with the champion, Leon Edwards being the ever-so-slight (-125) favorite, while challenger, Colby Covington comes in as the (+105) underdog for UFC 296's main event.
Every fan that loves sports wants to make some money while watching it...so why not use UFC 296 as an excuse to do just that? While there seem to be endless sites to place an online wager, IA Betting does a great job at directing you at the best spot to get in on the action in your specific location!
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