Preview: UFC 296 ‘Edwards vs. Covington’

UFC Flyweight Championship

#10 P4P | Alexandre Pantoja (26-5, 10-3 UFC) vs. #2 FLW | Brandon Royval (15-6, 5-2 UFC)

ODDS: Pantoja (-185), Royval (+154)

The flyweight division has consistently provided some of the UFC’s most exciting title fights, and that trend figures to continue with Pantoja holding down the fort. Pantoja has consistently been one of the top 125-pounders in the UFC since he came into the promotion in 2017, but he always seemed to suffer an ill-timed loss when it came to making his way into the title picture. Defeats to Deiveson Figueiredo in 2019 and Askar Askarov in 2020 easily could have put “The Cannibal” in the catbird seat for a title shot if he had walked out with a win. After rebounding from the Askarov loss with a win over Manel Kape, Pantoja kept racking up victories and lurking on the periphery as Figueiredo and Brandon Moreno kept trading the belt. Pantoja already had two wins over Moreno and the advantage of being one of the most entertaining fighters in the sport, winning all-offense affairs over Alex Perez and Royval. Moreno walked away from the Figueiredo feud with the title at the beginning of the year, so Pantoja was given his long-overdue shot; and once again, he had Moreno’s number in the biggest fight of his career. It was far from a clean performance from Pantoja, but it showed off the tireless aggression that has made him such a successful fighter over the years. Moreno might have been the more technically sound fighter, but Pantoja kept finding the right strike or the right grappling exchange to keep the incumbent champion from gaining much momentum. Pantoja’s first defense comes here in a rematch against Royval, who is undefeated since their whirlwind of a first fight.

Royval does not have the veteran bona fides of Pantoja—even though “Raw Dawg” has sneakily been a pro since 2012—but he has followed a similar path since making it to the UFC in 2020. Royval’s promotional debut set the tone, as he was able to wear out Tim Elliott in a fast-paced affair, and he nearly became the division’s top contender within a matter of months. He put away Kai Kara-France in another crazy fight before running into Moreno, who used his win over Royval to vault into the title picture. After dropping the Pantoja fight, Royval briefly flirted with a more patient and technical style against Rogerio Bontorin, but he has since gone back to his wild ways and found both entertainment and success. Wins over Matt Schnell and Matheus Nicolau each lasted a shade over two minutes and saw Royval find a sudden finish. This fight figures to be a good time but not a long time—both men are offensively potent and constantly hunting for a finish—and it is hard not to favor Pantoja given how he was able to stay ahead in grappling exchanges during their first fight, a phase this rematch figures to quickly pivot towards. The champion could find himself in danger even if things wind up as a quick win, but the pick is Pantoja via first-round submission.

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Edwards vs. Covington
Pantoja vs. Royval
Rakhmonov vs. Thompson
Pimblett vs. Ferguson
The Prelims