5 fights to make after UFC 296: Leon Edwards vs. Colby Covington
Last night saw UFC 296 go down from Las Vegas, and to call it an eventful show would be an understatement.
We saw UFC 296’s big stars pick up both big wins and losses, meaning that a number of big fights could potentially have been set up for down the line.
Will the promotion create these fights, or will they go in another direction? Right now, it’s hard to say.
However, here are the five fights which make the most sense after UFC 296: Leon Edwards vs. Colby Covington.
#5. UFC featherweight bout: Josh Emmett vs. Giga Chikadze
Former featherweight title challenger Josh Emmett scored the best knockout on offer last night, turning the lights out on Bryce Mitchell and leaving him convulsing on the floor.
However, while a lot of observers picked Mitchell to win the bout, ‘Thug Nasty’ was not initially booked to fight at UFC 296. Instead, he replaced the injured Giga Chikadze.
With that in mind, the best thing the matchmakers could do with Emmett would be to re-book the fight with ‘Ninja’ as soon as he’s healthy.
Emmett has already fought the majority of the best featherweights in the promotion, and at the age of 38, he isn’t likely to make another title charge.
Chikadze, however, is still climbing the ladder, and a fight with the man who sits two spots above him at No.6 makes a lot of sense.
When you consider that a clash of these two strikers would also be a lot of fun to watch, it’s a no-brainer to put it back together soon.
#4. UFC lightweight bout: Paddy Pimblett vs. Drew Dober or Renato Moicano
Paddy Pimblett may not have impressed everyone last night, but he did pick up the biggest win of his UFC career by defeating former interim lightweight titleholder Tony Ferguson.
‘The Baddy’ dropped ‘El Cucuy’ in the first round and came close to a finish, but when he couldn’t get it, he was largely forced to grind his veteran foe down, tiring in the process.
The win shouldn’t move the Liverpool native into the top fifteen at lightweight, but it ought to set him up for a fight with a ranked opponent next.
With that in mind, it could make sense to match him with the winner of the upcoming bout between Drew Dober and Renato Moicano, which goes down in February.
Both are currently ranked in the bottom end of the top fifteen, and both would provide a different test for Pimblett; Dober with his brutal striking and Moicano with his slick Brazilian jiu-jitsu.
Whether ‘The Baddy’ could pass this test is debatable, but he’s definitely earned the opportunity to try at this point.
#3. UFC flyweight title: Alexandre Pantoja vs. Amir Albazi
UFC flyweight champ Alexandre Pantoja defended his title impressively last night, outpointing top contender Brandon Royval in basically every round of their bout.
Royval looked like a threat standing, but simply couldn’t stop the takedowns of ‘The Cannibal’, who remains the top 125lber on the planet.
Who should be next for him? Assuming the promotion aren’t overly keen on booking a third bout between the Brazilian and former titleholder Brandon Moreno, the next contender ought to be Amir Albazi.
The Iraqi native is currently ranked at No.2 in the division, and has won all five of his octagon bouts, finishing three of them.
Would this be a title fight that would really pique the interest of the fans? Right now, probably not. Albazi is largely an unknown quantity to casuals, while Pantoja hasn’t exactly become a star in his own right.
However, barring an unexpected move like a fighter from another weight class moving to 125lbs, there are no huge bouts to be made at flyweight right now. Therefore, going by the official rankings would be the best bet.
#2. UFC welterweight bout: Colby Covington vs. Belal Muhammad
Colby Covington failed to reach his goal of becoming undisputed UFC welterweight champion last night, as he was comprehensively beaten by current titleholder Leon Edwards.
‘Chaos’ didn’t exactly fight to his potential in the bout, which is almost understandable given he hadn’t been inside the octagon since early 2022.
At the age of 35, Covington is probably not going to earn another title shot, but he should still be seen as one of the best welterweights in the world. Therefore, the fight that makes sense for him right now would pit him against Belal Muhammad.
Sure, Muhammad may well believe he deserves a title shot in his own right thanks to his ranking of No.2 and his lengthy unbeaten run, but another fighter likely leapfrogged him last night.
Therefore, the next-best thing for ‘Remember the Name’ would be a clash with ‘Chaos’, who he’s verbally sparred with on numerous occasions before.
If Muhammad could get past Covington, then he could definitely fight for the title afterwards, and this fight could easily headline a Fight Night event. Right now, it makes a lot of sense.
#1. UFC welterweight title: Leon Edwards vs. Shavkat Rakhmonov
UFC welterweight champion Leon Edwards could well have been thrown off his game by the personal trash talk of Colby Covington last night. However, ‘Rocky’ stayed focused, and ended up easily outpointing ‘Chaos’ to retain his title.
Judging by the rankings, Belal Muhammad ought to be next for the native of Birmingham, England. However, given how good Shavkat Rakhmonov looked in his win over Stephen Thompson last night, it’s easy to see the best direction the division should move in.
‘The Nomad’ is now 18-0 in MMA, with six of those wins coming inside the octagon. More to the point, the Kazakh native has never gone the distance, and became the first man to submit ‘Wonderboy’ in his career last night.
Essentially, Rakhmonov is in his prime, he appears to have no weaknesses, and he’s quite clearly the most dangerous fighter in the welterweight division right now.
However, whether he could beat the battle-tested Edwards is another thing entirely, particularly as he’s never fought in a five-round bout before.
Regardless, Rakhmonov has the hype around him, he’s on a lengthy winning streak, and he also has star potential. Therefore, he simply has to be next in line for ‘Rocky’.