Updated UFC 296 Odds – Picks & Predictions for Edwards vs. Covington and More

Not only is UFC 296 the only PPV event in December, but this is also the final Ultimate Fighting Championship event of 2023. That’s why it’s no surprise that the UFC 296 fight card is packed with real bangers.

The UFC 296 odds prove my point. They’re very close for most of the fights, including the two championship fights – Leon Edwards vs. Colby Covington and Alexandre Pantoja vs. Brandon Royval.

I’m now going to delve deeper into the UFC 296 odds, dissecting why they’re favoring certain fighters and showing you where to go to find the best value.

From there, I’ll offer my top UFC 296 picks, and point you to some excellent US sports betting sites for wagering on this huge event.

The Leon Edwards vs. Colby Covington odds are slightly in favor of the defending UFC Welterweight champ, which is no surprise. After all, Covington hasn’t fought in a year and a half.

It’s also no surprise that Alexandre Pantoja’s UFC 296 odds favor him to retain his title in the flyweight fight with Brandon Royval. He’s already defeated Royval once, two years ago.

What is kind of surprising is that Shavkat Rakhmonov is a -625 favorite against Stephen Thompson. The only reason I can see is that Rakhmonov is undefeated in his pro career.

All the top online sportsbooks are favoring “Nomad” with some of them giving even shorter UFC 296 odds than BetOnline, whose odds you can see in the table above.

In fact, this betting site is giving a better value than most of its competitors for all the fights scheduled for December 16.

This, however, isn’t the only thing that makes BetOnline a good choice for UFC 296 betting.

This online bookmaker also has great bonuses, most notably, the 50% welcome bonus up to $1,000. It also has fast and secure payments, 24/7 support, etc.

The UFC is planning to end the 2023 campaign with a bang. The final event of the year brings us two title fights.

In the main event of the evening, Leon Edwards will try to defend his UFC Welterweight title against one of the biggest trash talkers in the world, Colby Covington.

Will Colby’s mind game work out for him? That’s one of the questions that are going to get answered on December 15 at T-Mobile Arena.

Another big question is whether Brandon Royval will get his revenge over the reigning UFC Flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja, who inflicted him his only loss by submission in his 11+ years long MMA career.

In addition to the two title fights, UFC 296 also brings us a clash between Tony Ferguson and Paddy Pimblett. “El Cucuy” is desperate to end his losing streak against a guy who’s not been getting much love from the fans recently after a controversial decision win in his previous fight.

Speaking of fighters who’re getting a lot of negative press, there’s Ian Machado Garry. The Irishman is getting a lot of hate on social media, even getting in a beef with UFC colleague Sean Strickland over the things going on in his personal life.

But this guy fights best when he’s angry, which explains why his UFC 296 odds are -375.

Colby Covington is 17-3 with two of those three losses happening to Kamaru Usman. Do you know who defeated Usman twice? Colby’s next opponent, Leon Edwards.

Edwards, who’s 21-3-1 overall, is the reigning UFC Welterweight champ. He’s famous for being one of the most intelligent fighters in the 170-pound division. This guy prepares meticulously for every fight and tends to stick to the play.

You would think that his head kick KO against Usman came as a result of a gamble, but there’s training footage that shows Edwards was plotting this move.

And even if he gets Leon down to the ground, Colby probably won’t be able to finish him.

After all, no one’s done it before and the Englishman has fought some real elite finishers in his career – Gunnar Nelson (89.47% finish rate), Nate Diaz (80.95%), and Donald Cerrone (75%).

Colby’s finish rate is 47.05%, which is another thing going in favor that he won’t finish Leon in the UFC 296 main event.    

But can he beat him by decision? He might, but I think the opposite scenario is way more likely to happen. If you’re with me, consider backing Edwards at BetOnline.

My prediction for UFC 296 is that we’ll see a lot of underdogs winning. Brandon Royval is one of them. The former LFA champ is plotting revenge against Alexandre Pantoja for the loss by submission two and a half years ago.

He’s probably worked hard to prepare for this fight, so you can expect him to do much better this time. Plus, given that he’s coming off a brilliant knee-and-elbows KO win against Matheus Nikolau, we might see him go for another one at UFC 296.

Then, there’s Tony Ferguson with the UFC 296 odds of +285. Even though many fans think he’s washed up, I think he can stage an upset in Vegas.

Sure, “El Cucuy” has become “El Cuckoo” lately, with his unorthodox practices, which include smacking metal poles with his legs, cutting 24 pounds in a single week despite not fighting, and many other crazy stuff.

Tony Ferguson becomes first person to finish David Goggins “HELL WEEK” pic.twitter.com/KhMYGV83GA

— Pubity (@pubity) November 18, 2023

The latest on the list of his out-of-box decisions is to hire David Goggins to prepare him for the UFC 296 fight.

The ex-Navy SEAL put Ferguson through his “Hell Week” program, which requires participants to endure all sorts of physical challenges for 20+ hours every day.

Will this help him? Physically, probably not, as he’s never had any issues with his stamina. Mentally, it could help him deal with his demons and give him confidence that he’s gonna end his six-fight losing skid.

Plus, with the UFC 296 odds of +285, I think Ferguson is a very good bet.

I’ve already said that I expect to see a lot of surprises at UFC 296, but here’s one that you might think is too much of a longshot.

I think that Stephen Thompson could beat Shavkat Rakhmonov, the fighter with the shortest UFC 296 odds.

I agree that this seems strange, given that Rakhmonov is 17-0 with each of those wins happening by a finish. However, I think that this guy just hasn’t fought a worthy opponent.

Stephen Thompson is a much, much better fighter than anyone Rakhmonov’s ever faced. He’s got the skills, the experience, and the determination to end Rakhmonov’s superb run.

Actually, if there’s a fighter who could end the Rakhmonov hype, it’s “Wonderboy” who’s already defeated such elite opponents as Robert Whittaker, Jorge Masvidal, and Vicente Luque.

Leon Edwards is my favorite UFC 296 pick as I think he’s the kind of fighter who can deal with Colby. Plus, his UFC 296 odds are pretty decent, even though he’s the favorite.

When it comes to fighters with plus-money odds, I think Brandon Royval is definitely worth a try, as well as Tony Ferguson. I also think there’s a good chance we could see Stephen Thompson staging a huge upset.

When it comes to the biggest favorites, I think Ian Garry will have no major problems beating Vicente Luque. The same goes for Irene Aldana, Cody Garbrandt, and Casey O’Neill.

Sure, their UFC 296 odds aren’t too lucrative, but there’s a way to get a better deal from these bets.

What you ought to do is put them together in a parlay and place that bet at one of the best online betting sites with cash out. The three of them should go all-in from the very first moment, but if things start going wrong for them, you can always cash out.

If you think you have a shot at winning some real money with these UFC 296 odds, consider placing your bets at BetOnline.

UFC 296 on December 16 is a must-bet event for every passionate MMA bettor.

It’s not just because this is the last event of 2023 – you’ll have to wait four weeks for the next event – but also because the fight card is packed with amazing duels.

The main event is probably going to be the best fight of the evening as both Edwards and Covington are likely to throw all they’ve got at each other. But I also suspect we’ll see some real battles in other bouts as well.

The fight between Rakhmonov and Thomspon is the one that I’ll be watching carefully. I think “Wonderboy” can win this fight, which is why I’m going to back him at SportsBetting.ag. which is giving +415 odds. I think that’s definitely worth a try.

If you plan on betting on UFC 296, just make sure you’re using a reputable sportsbook. I’ve already pointed you to some great options, but if you need extra help, refer to our guide below.

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