Significant Stats | UFC 296: Edwards vs Covington

Key Stats: 69% takedown defense, 16:24 (4th longest all-time among WW), 53.4% signficiant strike accuracy (7th)

WATCH: Leon Edwards’ Ubeaten Streak

What It Means: The current welterweight champion is a bit of a textbook example of how a kickboxing-based fighter can round out their mixed martial arts skill set to the nth degree. Edwards is a wicked striker who is rarely out of position. From his southpaw stance, he can dominate with his jab, cross and kicks to the leg and midsection. He has mindful footwork, and he often welcomes the clinch, from where he can punish opponents with elbows and knees. His takedown defense is rock-solid, and he has some offensive grappling as well. “Rocky” is an all-around stud.

Colby Covington

Key Stats: 67 takedowns landed (2nd all-time among WW), 46.9% control time percentage (3rd), 16:34 average fight time (3rd longest all-time among WW)

What It Means: For all his antics outside of the Octagon, the dude can absolutely scrap. He embraces the wrestler’s grind and chains together several takedown attempts with a pace few can keep up with or tolerate. He has diverse striking, but it’s the way he blends those strikes into grappling on the mat or against the fence that makes him so exhausting to face.

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What to Look For in the Fight: This fight essentially boils down to whether Edwards can stymie Covington’s pace and grappling pressure while implementing his skillful striking in an impactful way. Covington is going to utilize his cardio and wrestling from the jump. Edwards showed he can deal with a certain level of swarming wrestling from Kamaru Usman, but Covington does things a little differently, often outhustling opponents to positions. How Edwards navigates that flurry while punishing Covington with knees, elbows and a variety of other attacks is key. Edwards did a better job of navigating danger along the fence against Usman in their second fight, so it’ll be intriguing to see how another camp preparing for a wrestler bodes against “Chaos.”

Co-Main Event: Alexandre Pantoja vs Brandon Royval

Alexandre Pantoja

Key Stats: 4.41 strikes landed per minute (8th all-time among FLW), 4 submission wins (tied 2nd all-time among FLW), 4 knockdowns landed (tied 6th)

MORE PANTOJA: The Story Of How Alexandre Pantoja Proved Who He Was | Get To Know The Champ | Pantoja’s Five Favorite UFC Fights | Pantoja Breaks Down The Flyweight Division

What It Means: Pantoja is a bit of a monster in the Octagon. His aggression might be his best trait, especially as he has honed it to make the most of his considerable talents. He loves to stand toe-to-toe with his opponents and slug it out, trusting his chin and his power to hold strong while his opponent melts. He can also snatch a submission quickly if his opponent slips up during a scramble. “Cannibal” is masterful at taking his opponent’s back and keeping it throughout a scramble before sinking in a choke.

Brandon Royval

Key Stats: 6:28 average fight time (4th shortest all-time among FLW), 2.32 submissions averaged per 15 minutes (1st all-time among FLW), +0.82 striking differential (5th)

What It Means: “Raw Dawg” is chaos personified in a fighter. He is an unpredictable striker who has supreme confidence in locking up submissions off his back, and that makes him rather fearless on the feet. He has good kicks and a knack for timing spinning attacks, as well, but where he shines is on the ground. He has a great guillotine that he’ll jump into quickly, but he can also set up his attacks well. A long-limbed fighter, Royval flicks jabs and kicks out with a frenetic pace until a grappling exchange comes along for him to scramble into a submission.

MORE ROYVAL: Watch The Fighter Trailer | Five Royval Fights You Have To See

What to Look For in the Fight: Pantoja and Royval delivered an all-action frenzy of a first fight in August 2021, and they’ve only improved since. Royval seemed to make some headway through unrelenting pressure and pace, but Pantoja eventually corralled Royval into a mistake that allowed Pantoja to earn the submission win. Pantoja won’t let much airspace exist between the two or else he’ll find a tornado of issues in front of him. Royval needs to be on the gas pedal early while fighting from the outside, something Pantoja can struggle with at times when at a speed disadvantage.

Other Fights to Watch (Shavkat Rakhmonov vs Stephen Thompson, Vicente Luque vs Ian Machado Garry)

Shavkat Rakhmonov

Key Stats: +1.84 striking differential (7th all-time among WW), 1.49 submissions averaged per 15 minutes (2nd), 1.49 takedowns averaged per 15 minutes

RELATED: Five Shavkat Rahkmonov Fights To Watch Before UFC 296

What It Means: Simply put, Rakhmonov is a beast. On the feet, he fights calmly and varies his targets well. Out of his orthodox stance, his punches are tight, compact and powerful, and his kicks come with little telegraph. He has a mean spinning back kick and wheel kick, as well. In the clinch, he loves to fire knees to the body, and he also attacks trips from there. When grappling, Rakhmonov stays heavy on top while dishing out ground-and-pound and looking for an opening to attack a submission.

Stephen Thompson

Key Stats: 10 knockdowns landed (tied 4th all-time among WW), 6 KO/TKO wins (4th), 64% takedown defense

What It Means: “Wonderboy” is a striking ace, utilizing his karate-based skillset to the best degree we’ve seen in the Octagon. His lateral movement often gives opponents fits, and he is sharp about darting in and out of range while setting traps for later in the fight. Thompson is adept fighting out of either stance, but still has tendencies depending on whether he is fighting orthodox or southpaw. He loves to utilize his lead leg as a rangefinder and point-scoring weapon, and his punches come quickly down the pipe. From any distance, Thompson can flick a head kick toward his opponent from a variety of angles with devastating impact.  

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What to Look For in the Fight: Thompson is a bit of a puzzle for every fighter to face, and Rakhmonov’s best bet is to get close to Thompson and mitigate the side-to-side movement. Whether he’ll go for a takedown quickly or try to test his striking against “Wonderboy” is something to note. For Thompson, maintaining range and firing kicks is always a part of his game, but it’s essential that he does not allow Rakhmonov to catch a kick and bring the fight to the ground.

Vicente Luque

Key Stats: 13 finishes (2nd all-time among WW), 52.6% significant strike accuracy (9th all-time among WW), 10 knockdowns landed (tied 4th all-time among WW)

Order UFC 296: Edwards vs Covington

What It Means: Luque is an all-action, technical brawler who can finish a fight at any point. He can switch stances on the feet, and when he throws, he throws hard. His hooks and strikes up close are particularly vicious, including knees and elbows from the clinch. He does a good job of mixing those strikes into combinations, as well as when he is entering the pocket. He is a decent grappler with some wicked submissions, particularly a D’Arce choke that he sinks in with efficiency.

Ian Machado Garry

Key Stats: +2.09 striking differential (1st all-time among WW), 6.67 strikes landed per minute (4th all-time among WW), 56.7 significant strike accuracy (2nd all-time among WW)

What It Means: “The Future” is a fast, technical kickboxer who loves to utilize his footwork and speed to land precise, but impactful, strikes. Machado Garry primarily fights out of an orthodox stance, and he has a decent ability and vision to stay in the pocket and counterstrike once he finds his rhythm. He is good at making in-fight adjustments as well to stay on the front foot, and when he senses a finish, he has good instincts in finding the final shots.

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What to Look For in the Fight: Machado Garry should have the speed advantage in this fight, so Luque will have to do his best to wrangle the Irishman against the cage before teeing off with strikes. He can’t overcommit, however, or else Machado Garry will find a window to counterstrike. That said, Luque could find success in the clinch and striking from there to punish Machado Garry.