5 things you might have missed at UFC 296: Leon Edwards vs. Colby Covington
UFC 296 took place this past weekend in Las Vegas, and the event – the final one of 2023 – was hugely memorable.
With so many wild moments, though, including two title fights and a brawl in the crowd, there were plenty of things that were probably missed at UFC 296.
With that considered, here are five things you might have missed at UFC 296: Leon Edwards vs. Colby Covington.
#5. Cody Garbrandt is now on his first win streak since 2016
Every UFC event seems to see at least one fighter miss out on a $50k bonus that on another event, they’d probably have earned. The fighter who probably felt that way this weekend was Cody Garbrandt.
‘No Love’ produced a beautiful walk-off KO to dispatch Brian Kelleher in the second round of their prelim bout, but thanks to some other violent finishes, he missed out on an extra check.
Despite this, it’s not likely that Garbrandt himself will be too fussed about that today. That’s because the former bantamweight champion is now on his first winning streak since 2016, the year that saw him dethrone Dominick Cruz to take the title in the first place.
Since then, it’s been difficult for ‘No Love’. After losing his crown to TJ Dillashaw in 2017, he went on a three-fight skid, and before the start of this year, he’d won just once in six bouts.
This weekend, though, Garbrandt looked as good as he’s ever done, just as he did in his win over Trevin Jones in the spring.
At just 32 years old, ‘No Love’ is probably still in his physical prime, meaning an unlikely surge back up the rankings isn’t out of the question just yet.
#4. Jamahal Hill played an unlikely hero during the Sean Strickland vs. Dricus du Plessis incident
One big talking point from this weekend was the wild brawl that erupted in the crowd between middleweight champion Sean Strickland and top contender Dricus du Plessis.
The two rivals will throw down for Strickland’s title next month at UFC 297.
Things already got personal on Friday after ‘Stillknocks’ made some tasteless references to the abuse Strickland suffered as a child at the hands of his father, and so this confrontation was no real surprise.
Did the promotion plan this out, despite many observers feeling it was a stain on the sport? It’s possible, even if Dana White was quick to label himself “an a**hole” for allowing the two men to sit near each other.
However, one thing that may have gone under the radar was the role that former light heavyweight champ Jamahal Hill played in the fracas.
In the clip of the incident that was released by the promotion, ‘Sweet Dreams’ – sporting a flashy trilby hat – could be seen pulling a child out of the way of the two 185lbers as they exchanged punches.
Naturally, Hill’s involvement has gone way under the radar, but it’s worth giving him a shoutout anyway, as without him there, things could’ve been far worse.
#3. Stephen Thompson had some special guests with him during his walk to the octagon
Musical artists being involved in the walkouts of UFC fighters isn’t a new thing. Famously, Sinead O’Connor and Aaron Lewis played Conor McGregor and Chad Mendes to the octagon for their legendary bout at UFC 189.
However, this weekend saw an unlikely appearance from a musical duo in what was essentially a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment.
Stephen Thompson has always walked to the octagon to the sound of Tenacious D’s 2001 hit ‘Wonderboy’, which, given its lyrical content, probably doesn’t pay tribute to the fighter’s kickboxing skills.
At the weekend, though, while band members Jack Black and Kyle Gass didn’t play the song live, they did walk to the octagon with Thompson for his bout with Shavkat Rakhmonov.
Hilariously, both men were sporting UFC-endorsed Venum gear.
While Black, with his huge white beard, was almost unrecognizable from his roles in hit movies such as ‘School of Rock’ and ‘Shallow Hal’, a number of fans on social media did at least spot him.
Gass, on the other hand, went largely unnoticed despite being clearly visible on camera throughout.
#2. Shavkat Rakhmonov became the first fighter to submit Stephen Thompson in the UFC
Shavkat Rakhmonov’s victory over Stephen Thompson has been widely hailed as the biggest victory in the Kazakh native’s career.
This is unsurprising given that ‘Wonderboy’ came into the bout ranked at No.6 in the welterweight division and had challenged for the welterweight title on two occasions in the past.
However, what seems to be flying under the radar is the fact that ‘Nomad’ also became the first man to ever submit Thompson in his MMA career.
‘Wonderboy’ has always been a tough fighter to finish, having only ever suffered one knockout loss in his career, too.
Despite this, many fans were probably of the belief that his ground game was his big weakness, particularly as he’d suffered recent losses to grapplers like Gilbert Burns and Belal Muhammad.
The fact that Rakhmonov was able to tap him out when those two afore-mentioned fighters, as well as other stellar grapplers like Tyron Woodley and Rory MacDonald, were unable to, though, says a lot about ‘Nomad’.
Given he’s usually known as a striker in his own right, his win this weekend should mark him out as arguably the biggest threat to Leon Edwards’ UFC welterweight title right now.
#1. Colby Covington was probably full of it when he said his fight with Leon Edwards was “easy”
A number of fans were left slightly disappointed by UFC 296’s headline bout between welterweight champ Leon Edwards and top contender Colby Covington.
The build to the fight saw Edwards label Covington as “good as dead” after ‘Chaos’ insulted his late father at Friday’s press conference. However, ‘Rocky’ didn’t really come close to finishing his foe, instead largely picking him apart over five rounds.
After the fight, Covington cut another notable promo, claiming that he believed he won the fight. He also described it as an “easy fight” and stated that he “didn’t have a scratch on him” afterwards.
Despite this, footage that has since appeared on social media site X suggests that ‘Chaos’ was probably not telling the truth in this rant.
The video in question shows Covington limping backstage with what appear to be ice packs strapped to both of his legs, probably due to the number of low kicks he absorbed from Edwards.
This should be a timely reminder to sceptics, showing them that even a less violent fight than they expect to see can still leave a fighter in serious pain afterwards.