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UFC 296 has come and gone and the card had every chance to end the year with a bang. Thunderous KO’s, squeamish submissions, and blood and guts battles all populated the first two-thirds of the card. The momentum gradually slowed from there, coming to an absolute grinding halt in the main event between Leon Edwards and Colby Covington. Covington’s characteristic aggression went MIA, resulting in a contest in which they stared at each other for long stretches, ending the card – and the year – on a whimper, Edwards keeping a hold on his UFC title.
I’m sure many will argue with me on that point as the rest of the UFC 296 card was phenomenal. Unfortunately, given the top of the card carries so much weight, it doesn’t quite play out that way. Granted, it does keep the card from being a complete disaster, but it also has no chance of being in competition for the card of the year.
The other main fights on the UFC 296 card largely played out as expected. Alexandre Pantoja defended his title in a rematch against Brandon Royval. Shavkat Rakhmonov bullied Stephen Thompson into submission. Paddy Pimblett beat down on the ghost of Tony Ferguson. Thus, while the victors should be applauded, it’s hard to call them the evening’s biggest winners when things unfurled as anticipated.
But who were the real winners and losers of the event? Sure, 12 UFC fighters officially had their hand raised in victory, but that doesn’t always mean they are the true winners at UFC 296. Same with those who didn’t get their hand raised. Just like not all wins are created equal, not all losses are either. I’ll give you the lowdown on who the biggest winners and losers of the event were. I’ll limit it to three in each category, doing my best to avoid having the same combatants of a contest in both categories. Let’s dig in!
UFC 296 Winners
Irene Aldana
Aldana entered UFC 296 coming off what could have been a career killing performance for the title against Amanda Nunes. The UFC had no desire to thrust her back into the title picture after that loss given she just didn’t show up. Things looked even worse when Karol Rosa landed kicks to the left leg of Aldana over and over again in the first round. It was expected Aldana’s legs would soon give out as it was hard to believe she’d be able to withstand the onslaught. Someway, somehow, Aldana not only survived, she managed to thrive.
There’s things a coach and/or analyst would be frustrated with in Aldana’s performance, but she also demonstrated a level of toughness that cannot be taught. Aldana bit down on her mouthpiece and threw some serious heat at Rosa, hurting her on several occasions. There aren’t many fighters who wouldn’t have melted from Aldana’s firepower, but Rosa was one of them. In the process, we got a legit FOTY candidate as neither combatant would go away. Though I don’t believe anyone would have been upset if Rosa got the decision, Aldana justifiably got a win and her reputation back in the process.
Cody Garbrandt
Garbrandt’s win over Brian Kelleher at UFC 296 was the type of win that he needed. Kelleher provided just enough resistance to justify the booking, but Garbrandt was able to justifiably remind us why many thought he would be the longtime kingpin of the division when he won the title in 2016. Some may point to Garbrandt’s KO of Rafael Assuncao, but Garbrandt arguably losing that fight prior to the KO. Against Kelleher, Garbrandt was firmly in control for the entirety of the fight and punctuated it with a violent walk off KO.
Even with Garbrandt having lost his UFC gold six years ago, he’s still just 32. That’s younger than the last man who lost the belt, Aljamain Sterling. I’m not about to predict a title run for Garbrandt, but there’s no reason he shouldn’t be able to not just participate in some high level fights, but win them too. I’m not crazy about his call out of Deiveson Figueiredo – a win over Garbrandt wouldn’t improve his standing – but there’s no reason Garbrandt shouldn’t be fighting someone with a number next to their name in his next fight.
Tagir Ulanbekov
Some would disagree with me on this point. In fact, I’m sure they’d tell me Pantoja would be a better fit as he was successful in his first UFC title defense. But not to take anything away from Pantoja, but he was a moderate favorite to beat a man he beat before. Ulanbekov faced the best version of Cody Durden in a fight that was expected to be much closer. Durden had some good moments, but Ulanbekov made some brilliant adjustments and in turn, delivered the best version of himself as well. In the process, Ulanbekov may have made himself a dark horse in the division.
Seeing as how he was a teammate of Khabib Nurmagomedov, Ulanbekov entered the UFC with a lot of hype. A combination of inactivity and underwhelming performances tampered the hype to the point where no one looked at him as a future title contender any longer. Combine his magnificent performance against a game Durden with his quick submission of Nate Maness and Ulanbekov once again looks like someone who might be able to make a quick climb up the flyweight ladder. Given the UFC would do well to get some new blood at the top of 125, Ulanbekov may be making his move at just the right time.
UFC 296 Losers
Colby Covington
UFC 296 was the last opportunity Covington was going to get for a title and he blew it.
I understand that Edwards is a quicker athlete than Kamaru Usman was, but Covington never tried to utilize his cardio advantage by pushing a pace. He allowed Edwards to fight at the pace he wanted to fight and it resulted in a boring fight that had the live audience booing even before the first round was up. What’s more, the crowd was firmly behind Covington beforehand. Taking them out of the fight didn’t help his cause in the least. Given this UFC 296 main event was one of the worst title fights of the year – if not the worst – Covington isn’t getting another chance at that belt.
Covington’s legacy isn’t a terrible one. He certainly made himself someone fans wanted to see, even if it was for them to see him get his face pounded. He even won a UFC interim title, something Urijah Faber was unable to do. Ultimately though – and it can be debated how fair this is – it will be established that he never won the belt. Out of the title picture, it’s fair to wonder how much longer Covington will be fighting. I wouldn’t be shocked if it’s the last time we’ve seen Covington. That said, I don’t think he wants his career to end on this note.
Bryce Mitchell
UFC 296 wasn’t the first time I’ve seen a fighter convulsing after a KO, but it is a rare enough occurrence that it will be sticking in the minds of many of us for a long time. Mitchell crumbled under the immense power of Josh Emmett, melting to a single perfectly placed punch on the nose. I’m not ripping Mitchell for that; anyone would have gone out cold to that. But that was the type of KO that fighters don’t recover from. I’m not saying it’s a guarantee we’ve seen the best of Mitchell, but I wouldn’t be shocked.
Sean Salmon was formerly considered to be a hot up-and-comer before Rashad Evans knocked him into yesteryear. A more visible case is Ronda Rousey essentially disappearing from the sport when Holly Holm splayed her out. I acknowledge there are exceptions – somehow, Alistair Overeem always found his way back – but Mitchell’s next fight will be very telling. I obviously don’t wish him any ill-will, but it’s very possible the KO from Emmett is going to alter Mitchell’s career for the worst. At the very least, he’s going to be on medical suspension for a while.
Casey O’Neill
I’m not ready to give up on O’Neill quite yet. At 26, she’s still a long way from her prime. However, after UFC 296, she’s now on a two-fight losing streak in a division with several up-and-comers who have been circled by fans and analysts as the future of the division. O’Neill has frequently been included with the likes of Erin Blanchfield, Manon Fiorot, Natalia Silva, and Tracy Cortez, all of whom are undefeated in the UFC. Had O’Neill managed to win her fight against Ariane Lipski, they’d probably continue to list O’Neill with them. After all, her last loss was her return from a torn ACL. With two losses in a row, that isn’t happening.
If there wasn’t such a talented crop of fighters on their way up the women’s flyweight division, this wouldn’t be such an issue for O’Neill. However, there’s another young fighter who has been making her way up that same division that should provide hope for O’Neill: Maycee Barber. Barber suffered consecutive defeats as well, only to have ripped off five victories in a row since. It requires incredible mental toughness to bounce back like that. Plus, I don’t see O’Neill getting many favors to bounce back. The UFC has plenty of fighters in that division. Thus, while I’m not counting her out, the road will be very difficult.
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