UFC 296: What’s next for Leon Edwards, Colby Covington and more?

The UFC is officially on hiatus until 2024 and the final fight card of the year delivered some incredible knockouts, dominating performances and a Fight of the Year contender. But even as we close the door on 2023, the main event of UFC 296 will continue to be a hot topic of discussion.

Leon Edwards easy to handle Colby Covington to retain the welterweight title Saturday in Las Vegas. Edwards’ speed and precision were too much for Covington, who was making his first Octagon appearance in nearly two years.

Before Edwards’ victory Alexandre Pantoja create a clinic against it Brandon Royval, defeat the challenger again and again. He failed in his first title defense and is looking to 2024 when he could provide some stability at the top of the flyweight division.

Then there was Shawkat Rakhmonov, who once again needed no judges to secure another win. Rakhmonov’s victory over Stephen Thompson was impressive, but is a title fight the right booking for the undefeated welterweight?

Who is the next champion and biggest standout fighter of the night? Let’s take a look:

Leon Edwards, welterweight champion

Who should be next: Belal Muhammad

There’s nothing really to discuss here. Edwards has talked about moving up, and there are actually reasons for it. He has only defended his title twice, but has won twelve consecutive times. He’s taken out Kamaru Usman twice. Now Colby Covington. You can’t say the man doesn’t deserve great opportunities, but at the end of the day he still has a lot of work to do as a champion. That’s just the reality.

Muhammad has won nine straight and has looked particularly impressive lately. He took up a fight at short notice Gilbert Burns At the beginning of the year and put his winning streak at risk. He did what the UFC asked. He won the fights. He’s next.

Wildcard: Middleweight title fight

Like I said, you can make a case for Edwards doing just about anything because he’s been so impressive for so long. He deserves to make demands and have them heard. But again, there’s still a lot of work to be done in the division, and historically that always comes first before any weight moves.

Colby Covington, welterweight

Who should be next: Gilbert Burns

There’s no other way to put it, but it was a strange night for Covington. Of course, Edwards deserves a lot of credit for this.

Covington didn’t seem comfortable at UFC 296, and you can’t blame him for that all upon dismissal. Edwards looked strong and Covington had nothing for him on Saturday. Covington made it clear that he wants to return soon and promised that he will get better. He still has a number next to his name and should be ranked accordingly – and that means a fight with Burns.

Covington didn’t look great in his last fight and neither did Burns, who fought in a quick turnaround against Muhammad (and injured his arm early in that fight). This game isn’t particularly hot, certainly not as hot as some of Covington’s recent meetings, but it’s an easy one to decide.

Placeholder: Dustin Poirier

The UFC is about selling pay-per-views, right? Usually these are title fights. But sometimes it’s BMF belts or grudge matches, and between Covington and Poirier, a grudge match is an easy sell.

The two are former teammates at American Top Team. Covington began making disparaging comments about Poirier years ago, seemingly out of nowhere, and Poirier’s anger at those comments is clearly genuine. Poirier has even said that he will never face Covington in the Octagon because he doesn’t want to be involved in ever making any money.

But it’s all about the money, and neither man is in line for a title shot at the moment – and won’t be any time soon. So if the UFC decides to float the idea to sell some views, anything is possible.

Alexandre Pantoja, flyweight world champion

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Pantoja retains the belt in the wide decision over Royval

Alexandre Pantoja retains the flyweight title with a dominant decision win over Brandon Royval.

Who should be next: Winner of Brandon Moreno vs. Amir Albazi on February 24th

The idea of ​​a fourth (!) fight between Pantoja and Moreno doesn’t do much for me (although it’s always an entertaining duel) and I doubt it does that much for the fan base in general, but that’s how things work.

If Moreno beats Albazi in a fight scheduled for five rounds, I would be surprised if he wasn’t next. The same goes for Albazi. If Moreno wins and something spectacular happens in the division, we could probably see someone overtaking Moreno, but right now the winner of this matchup is the favorite to fight for the belt next.

Wildcard: Winner of Matheus Nicolau vs. Manel Kape on January 13th

Here’s an interesting caveat. UFC President Dana White has already spoken about skipping Mexico’s UFC Noche celebration in September. If Moreno wins, the UFC could perhaps keep its shot at the title until September. And if that’s the case, maybe things will pick up between Pantoja and the winner of this fight at some point sooner.

Shavkat Rakhmonov, welterweight

Who should be next: Kamaru Usman

It’s kind of the only thing that makes sense, but it’s unlikely to happen. Usman has already said he has no intention of fighting Rakhmonov unless it’s for the title, as they have been training together in South Florida. Usman is also simply at the point in his career where, even if that wasn’t the case, he probably wouldn’t be interested in the fight anymore.

Still, I have to list it as “should come next” because it’s literally the only thing that makes sense. Belal Muhammad (rightfully so) is only interested in competing for a championship. Rakhmonov and Gilbert Burns, the only other welterweight ahead of him, is also a teammate at Kill Cliff FC. It’s a cucumber.

Wildcard: Belal Muhammad

If for some reason Muhammad doesn’t have a shot at the welterweight title for an extended period of time, the UFC could ask him to fight again. We’ve seen stranger things. Beyond that, however, Rakhmonov is hard-pressed to find anything else to do other than wait and potentially step in as a replacement for a future title shot.

Paddy PimblettLight

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Paddy Pimblett dominates the ground game in his fight against Tony Ferguson

Paddy Pimblett defeats Tony Ferguson and keeps him on the mat in their fight at UFC 296.

Who should be next: Benoit Saint Denis

So here’s the deal. At some point, the UFC’s attitude towards Pimblett was always going to change What matchup sets him up? To Okay, next time he loses, who would we be okay with him losing to?

In other words, Pimblett is now, in a sense, “built.” Now it’s time for some tough fights, and if he loses, the UFC certainly wouldn’t mind losing another name it would like to build. Then I get Saint Denis.

Saint Denis showed a lot of potential. He’s 27 years old and ranked 12th in an incredibly high division. Some will definitely say this is throwing Pimblett to the wolves, and… that’s it. But he is 5-0 and has been a betting favorite in each of his appearances. Give him a shot at a ranked opponent, and make that ranked opponent someone who would benefit from beating someone of Pimblett’s popularity.

Placeholder: Jim Miller

Miller fights Gabriel Benitez next month, but he has repeatedly said he would like to fight at UFC 300 in April. He has previously fought at UFC 100 and 200. He is the Ironman of the UFC. Fans know and love him. Even with all the tread on his tires, he would be a very legitimate fighter for Pimblett and give him exposure.

Josh EmmettFeatherweight

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Josh Emmett announces a candidate for KO of the year

Josh Emmett sent Bryce Mitchell to the mat with a walk-off punch in round 1 of their fight.

Who should be next: Giga Chikadze

Incredible knockout, man. Simply creepy. Even if you’ve seen Emmett’s power, it will still shock you, just like it did on Saturday.

I don’t know what Emmett’s title ambitions are at age 38 after suffering two consecutive defeats earlier this year. With such knockout ability, it cannot be said that it is impossible for him to still reach the top. It would take the right wins and a few other dominoes to fall, but man, when you run out of power like that, anything can happen.

This fight was originally supposed to be against Chikadze and I think it makes sense to rebook him.

Wildcard: Winner of Arnold Allen vs. Movsar Evloev on January 20

If Chikadze is unavailable, the winner of this fight could be on the same timeline as Emmett. Emmett was originally scheduled to fight Arnold in 2020, but pulled out due to injury.

Personally, I’m assuming it will be Chikadze, but depending on everyone’s timing, this is another likely option.

Cody GarbrandtBantamweight

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Cody Garbrandt drops Brian Kelleher with one punch

Cody Garbrandt knocks out Brian Kelleher with a punch to the chin at UFC 296.

Who should be next: Dominick Cruz

I liked Garbrandt’s call Deiveson Figueiredothe two was He was originally scheduled to fight for the flyweight championship in 2020, but if we’re being honest, Figueiredo will want (and deserve) a higher-ranked opponent.

What’s wrong with Cruz? He has not fought since August 2022 when he lost Marlon Vera (Who will fight for the belt next). Cruz is still very high on the leaderboard, but he is the epitome of someone who is ranked. I’m sure Cruz is a little tired of hearing about Garbrandt’s “perfect” fight against him in 2016 when he won the 135-pound championship. This duel has a long history. It makes sense.

Placeholder: Adrian Yanez

Garbrandt is on a two-fight win streak while Yanez is fresh off two fights. That alone makes the fight unlikely. But tell me who doesn’t want to see it?

Yanez has lost some of his luster, but both losses came against ranked opponents. He hasn’t completely fallen off. If Garbrandt beats him, it means something. If Yanez wins, it means something. And stylistically it’s a beautiful boxing match. Would be a great fight and get a lot of attention.