Leon
Edwards proved yet again that bite matters far more than bark
in a dog-eat-dog world.
The Team Renegade star kept his emotions in check and outstruck
Colby
Covington across five rounds to retain the undisputed
Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight title with a
unanimous decision in the
UFC 296 headliner on Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Edwards (22-3, 14-2 UFC) swept the scorecards with 49-46 marks from
all three members of the cageside judiciary.
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Covington (17-4, 12-4 UFC) seemed tentative and unsure of himself,
and while he delivered takedowns in the third and fifth rounds, he
failed to consolidate them with anything meaningful. The spaces in
between were dominated by Edwards. He chopped away at Covington’s
lead leg with kicks, leaned on surgical counters and hammered the
MMA Masters rep’s midsection with front kicks. The challenger
scrambled into top position in the back half of Round 5 and applied
some mild ground-and-pound, but the outcome had long been
decided.
Pantoja Downs Royval, Keeps Flyweight Title
Repeated takedowns and stifling control carried American Top Team’s
Alexandre
Pantoja to a unanimous decision in his rematch with Brandon
Royval, as he retained the undisputed flyweight championship in
the five-round co-main event. All three cageside judges scored it
for Pantoja (27-5, 11-3 UFC): 50-45, 50-45 and 49-46.
The result boiled down to one cold reality: Royval (15-7, 5-3 UFC)
could not stay upright. Pantoja executed takedowns in all five
rounds, maintained top position—he often settled in side
control—and bled valuable time off the clock. Royval managed to
steer clear of the Brazilian’s active submission game but spent too
much time pinned to the canvas. The Factory X mainstay excelled in
the standup exchanges, especially in the third round and in parts
of the fifth, though his inability to stay on the feet proved
costly once his 25 minutes were up.
Pantoja, who now holds a 2-0 advantage in his head-to-head series
with Royval, will ride a five-fight winning streak into his next
assignment.
Unbeaten Rakhmonov Taps Thompson
Fast-rising Kill Cliff Fight Club star Shavkat
Rakhmonov put away Stephen
Thompson with a rear-naked choke in the second round of their
welterweight showcase. Thompson (17-7-1, 12-7-1 UFC), who had never
before been submitted, bowed out 4:56 into Round 2.
Rakhmonov (18-0, 6-0 UFC) wore down “Wonderboy” with a
soul-stealing clinch for most of the first round. He closed the
distance in the middle stanza, secured a takedown and softened
Thompson with punches before making his first pass at a rear-naked
choke. Rakhmonov bailed on it, chipped away at the South
Carolinian’s resolve with repeated elbows and toyed with a brabo
choke before spinning behind his kneeling adversary. The onetime
M-1 Global champion then snuck his arms in place, tightened his
squeeze and forced the tapout.
The 29-year-old Rakhmonov has finished all 18 of his opponents.
Pimblett Overwhelms Reeling Ferguson
Former Cage Warriors Fighting Championship titleholder Paddy
Pimblett cleared another hurdle with a workmanlike unanimous
decision over Tony
Ferguson in a three-round lightweight attraction. All three
cageside judges scored it the same: 30-27 for Pimblett (21-3, 5-0
UFC), who has rattled off seven consecutive victories.
Pimblett nearly finished it in the first round, where he drove “The
Ultimate Fighter” Season 13 winner to the canvas with a flurry of
punches and a flying knee. He followed up with ground-and-pound and
flirted with a rear-naked choke, only to see Ferguson (25-10, 15-8
UFC) withstand those efforts. Pimblett turned to takedowns and top
control across the final 10 minutes, as he kept fatigue at bay and
stayed active enough to avoid a referee restart.
Ferguson, who turns 40 in February, now finds himself on a
seven-fight losing streak.
Emmett Flips Switch on Replacement Mitchell
Team Alpha Male’s Josh Emmett
rebounded from back-to-back losses to Yair
Rodriguez and Ilia
Topuria, as he punched out Bryce
Mitchell in the first round of their featherweight appetizer. A
short-notice replacement for Giga
Chikadze, Mitchell (16-2, 7-2 UFC) met his end—it was violent,
sudden and unsettling—1:57 into Round 1.
Emmett (19-4, 10-4 UFC) controlled the cage from the center,
circled on the perimeter and closed in. He beat Mitchell to the
punch with a devastating right hook that sent “The Ultimate
Fighter” Season 27 semifinalist crashing to the canvas. No
follow-up shots were required. Mitchell, 29, appeared to have a
seizure before he regained consciousness.
It was the seventh first-round finish of Emmett’s 23-fight
career.
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