The talking – and the fancy dress – stops this weekend, as Leon Edwards and Colby Covington finally climb into the Octagon together at UFC 296.

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Controversial character Covington pulled his latest stunt at the press conference for the event as he dressed up as George Washington, in reference to overthrowing British rule in 1776, ahead of the showdown with Edwards, from Birmingham.

Edwards is the UFC Welterweight Championship belt holder after claiming and defending the title in two fights against Kamaru Usman over the last 18 months.

Covington is listed No.3 in the welterweight challenger rankings, and will be determined to make an impression in his first fight since a victory over Jorge Masvidal in March 2022.

Also on the card, flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja puts his belt on the line in a title fight against Brandon Royval, while British favourite Paddy Pimblett goes up against former lightweight champion Tony Ferguson, who is currently on a six-fight losing streak.

RadioTimes.com brings you full details of UFC 296, including UK time, TV channel, live stream details and the fight card.

What is the UFC 296 start time?

UFC 296 TV coverage will start at 1am UK time in the early hours of Sunday 17th December 2023.

The main card is expected to start around 3am UK time.

UFC 296 on TV and live stream

UFC 296 is a PPV event and will be exclusively broadcast by TNT Sports Box Office in the UK.

Fans can tune in to watch Edwards and Covington's showdown live for a one-off fee of £19.99.

You can either navigate to Channel 494 on BT TV or Channel 490 on Sky TV for more details on how to get the fight or go to the TNT Sports Box Office website.

Watch UFC 296 in the US

US fans can watch the event live in the US via ESPN+. On its own, ESPN+ costs $10.99 per month or $109.99 per year. UFC 296 will cost an additional $79.99 as it is a PPV event, meaning you can get UFC 296 and a year of ESPN+ for $134.98.

You can also combine a Disney Plus subscription with ESPN+ for just $14.99 per month, but the main event will cost extra.

UFC 296 fight card

Main card – on TNT Sports Box Office from 3am

  • Flyweight: Alexandre Pantoja (c) v Brandon Royval
  • Welterweight: Shavkat Rakhmonov v Stephen Thompson
  • Lightweight: Tony Ferguson v Paddy Pimblett
  • Featherweight: Josh Emmett v Bryce Mitchell

Preliminary card – on TNT Sports Box Office from 1am

  • Light Heavyweight: Alonzo Menifield v Dustin Jacoby
  • Women's Bantamweight: Irene Aldana v Karol Rosa
  • Bantamweight: Cody Garbrandt v Brian Kelleher
  • Women's Flyweight: Casey O'Neill v Ariane Lipski

Early preliminary card – not live on UK TV

  • Flyweight: Tagir Ulanbekov v Cody Durden
  • Featherweight: Andre Fili v Lucas Almeida
  • Heavyweight: Martin Buday v Shamil Gaziev

If you're looking for something else to watch, check out our TV Guide or Streaming Guide, or visit our Sport hub for all the latest news.

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Authors

Michael PottsSport Editor

Michael Potts is the Sport Editor for Radio Times, covering all of the biggest sporting events across the globe with previews, features, interviews and more. He has worked for Radio Times since 2019 and previously worked on the sport desk at Express.co.uk after starting his career writing features for What Culture. He achieved a first-class degree in Sports Journalism in 2014.

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