UFC CEO Dana White has announced two more fights for UFC 296 including the return of Paddy Pimblett.
Earlier this week, White announced that UFC 296 would be headlined by a welterweight title fight between Leon Edwards and Colby Covington. The co-main event of UFC 296 sees Alexandre Pantoja defending his flyweight title against Brandon Royval. The card already seemed solid, but White announced two more big fights on social media.
BREAKING!!! More fights on Dec. 16th in Vegas. Tickets on sale Oct. 20th #UFC296 pic.twitter.com/JHpQtqYSbw
— danawhite (@danawhite) September 23, 2023
The first fight Dana White announced is a welterweight bout between Stephen Thompson and Shavkat Rakhmonov. ‘Wonderboy’ surprised many when he announced on social media that he accepted a fight with Rakhmonov, despite him saying to BJPENN.com last year he had no interest in that fight.
However, the fight that many fans will be excited about that Dana White announced is a lightweight bout between Paddy Pimblett and Tony Ferguson.
Paddy Pimblett (20-3) hasn’t fought since UFC 282 last December when he won a controversial decision over Jared Gordon. He has since had surgery and he thought he wouldn’t be able to fight in 2023, but Pimblett will get to fight this year. The former Cage Warriors featherweight champion is 4-0 in the UFC and also holds a second-round submission over Jordan Leavitt, a first-round submission over Kazula Vargas, and a first-round KO over Luigi Vendramini in his debut.
Tony Ferguson (25-9) is currently on a six-fight losing streak and coming off a third-round submission loss to Bobby Green back in July. Prior to that, ‘El Cucuy’ suffered a submission loss to Nate Diaz in the main event of UFC 279. Also on the losing streak, Ferguson has lost to Michael Chandler by KO, Beneil Darisuh by decision, Charles Oliveira by decision, and Justin Gaethje by TKO for the interim lightweight title.
With the addition of the two fights Dana White announced, UFC 296 is as follows:
- Leon Edwards vs. Colby Covington
- Alexandre Pantoja vs. Brandon Royval
- Paddy Pimblett vs. Tony Ferguson
- Stephen Thompson vs. Shavkat Rakhmonov
