Quick Facts
- Leon Edwards slight favorite (-160)
- Colby Covington underdog (+124)
- Covington hasn’t fought for over a year
**Odds Provided by FanDuel as of 14th December
The final UFC PPV of the year – UFC 296, is coming this Saturday, 16 December. The main event on the card will see the UFC welterweight belt on the line as Leon Edwards defends his title against the tough Colby Covington. Edwards comes into this fight as one of the most talked about fighters in the sport, and will be hoping to make his second successful defense this weekend. Although Covington hasn’t fought for a little while, he is teak tough and is no stranger to title fights.
Edwards vs Covington Odds
State | Welcome Bonus | Launch Date |
---|---|---|
Arizona | First Bet Safety Net $2,000 in Bonus Bets or Bet $5 Get $150 | February 2024 |
Colorado | First Bet Safety Net $2,000 in Bonus Bets or Bet $5 Get $150 | September 2022 |
Indiana | First Bet Safety Net $2,000 in Bonus Bets or Bet $5 Get $150 | January 2024 |
Iowa | First Bet Safety Net $2,000 in Bonus Bets or Bet $5 Get $150 | June 2023 |
Kentucky | First Bet Safety Net $2,000 in Bonus Bets or Bet $5 Get $150 | September 2023 |
Louisiana | First Bet Safety Net $2,000 in Bonus Bets or Bet $5 Get $150 | November 2023 |
New Jersey | First Bet Safety Net $2,000 in Bonus Bets or Bet $5 Get $150 | August 2019 |
North Carolina | First Bet Safety Net $2,000 in Bonus Bets or Bet $5 Get $150 | March 2024 |
Ohio | First Bet Safety Net $2,000 in Bonus Bets or Bet $5 Get $150 | January 2023 |
Pennsylvania | First Bet Safety Net $2,000 in Bonus Bets or Bet $5 Get $150 | July 2024 |
Virginia | First Bet Safety Net $2,000 in Bonus Bets or Bet $5 Get $150 | January 2023 |
Edwards defeated Kamaru Usman again in March and is one of the hottest fighters in the UFC. He is currently on an 11-fight winning streak and is the Welterweight champion following back-to-back victories against Usman. He proved he has an excellent engine and a never say die attitude in the first fight against Usman in 2020, behind on the scorecards and heading for defeat before a highlight-reel head kick in the fifth round.
In March, he once again defeated Usman, this time via unanimous decision. Edwards doesn’t have any particular weakness, he is solid in the clinch and is also a highly skilled wrestler. He will need all of those attributes and more this Saturday, and if you think he will remain the champion, you can place a moneyline wager on him to win at odds of -160. If you feel Edwards can end this contest early and expose the potential rustiness of Covington, you can bet on an Edwards KO with odds of +155.
The last time we saw Colby Covington in the octagon he was comfortably beating Jorge Masvidal in March 2022. He has only lost 2 of his last 11 fights, both against Usman, but both contests were close. Covington is the man lots of people love to hate with his exuberant persona bordering on arrogance, but that doesn’t make him any less of a class operator.
Covington is an expert and controlling fights by keeping his opponent on the mat or against the cage. If you think he can take the belt away from Edwards this Saturday, you can find moneyline odds on Covington of +124. If you think this title fight will come to a sudden end with the challenger causing an upset by KO, bet on Covington to knock out Edwards (+700).
Edwards vs Covington Prediction
The oddsmakers believe this will be close and hard to call, and I agree with that viewpoint. For Covington to cause the upset, he will need every ounce of his chain wrestling skills to keep Edwards at bay and reduce his offense. The problem Covington has is that Edwards has proved he can handle a fighter with a similar style in Usman and overcome that skillset.
Although Edwards needed a an unbelievable head kick to beat Usman in the first fight, the second was far more convincing and he dominated throughout the bout. Usman did score some takedowns in that fight, but Edwards did a great job of getting back upright and landed far more shots on Usman that were coming back.
I am sure that Covington will be able to take Edwards to the mat on occasions, Edwards has shown he has the ability to get up and is difficult to control. The longer the fighters remain upright, the better for Edwards as he has superior striking skills, hits and harder and also has more accurate kickboxing. Add in the fact Covington is coming in cold having not fought for over a year, and I am going with Leon Edwards to win via decision.