Paddy Pimblett will finally make his return to the Octagon to face former interim champion Tony Ferguson at UFC 296 this evening.
'The Baddy' has not fought since December 2022 after suffering a serious ankle injury in his victory over Jared Gordon.
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All you need to know about UFC 296
The 28-year-old was riding a four-fight UFC win streak but was forced to go under the knife in a move that curtailed his plans for 2023.
The Liverpudlian will now get the chance to finish the year on a high in what will be his toughest fight to date against Ferguson.
‘El Cucuy’ has lost six consecutive bouts and hasn’t tasted victory inside the Octagon since stopping Donald Cerrone in 2019.
But at the peak of his powers, Ferguson won a record-setting 12 lightweight fights in a row and captured an interim title so would still be a huge name on Pimblett's resume should he claim victory.
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Pimblett vs Ferguson: Date and how to follow
UFC 296 will take place on Saturday, December 16.
The action is being held at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
The preliminary card will get underway from 11:30pm UK time before the main card at 1am, with this then fight around 3am.
The prelims are set to be broadcast live on the UFC Fight Pass and fans can sign up to the pass here.
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And then the main card will be shown live on TNT Sports Box Office in the UK from 1am on Sunday morning.
The event will cost £19.99 and full details on how to watch the event can be found here.
talkSPORT will have updates throughout fight week while talkSPORT.com will be on hand for the best of the reaction.
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UFC 296: Fight card
Subject to change
Main Card
- MAIN EVENT: Leon Edwards vs Colby Covington - for UFC welterweight title
- Alexandre Pantoja and Brandon Royval - for UFC flyweight title
- Shavkat Rakhmonov vs Stephen Thompson
- Paddy Pimblett vs Tony Ferguson
- Josh Emmett vs Bryce Mitchell
Preliminary card
- Alonzo Menifield vs Dustin Jacoby
- Irene Aldana vs Karol Rosa
- Cody Garbrandt vs Brian Kelleher
- Casey O'Neill vs Ariane Lipski
Early preliminary card
- Tagir Ulanbekov vs Cody Durden
- Andre Fili vs Lucas Almeida
- Martin Buday vs Shamil Gaziev
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Pimblett vs Ferguson: What has been said?
Dana White has responded to the backlash for booking Pimblett vs Ferguson considering the fighters' respective recent results.
"I think a lot of people think Paddy is unproven, and I think a lot of people feel like this is a fight that Tony isn’t in deep water like he’s been in, in his last several fights,” White said.
“I think the matchmaking and the timing on this fight is excellent and couldn’t be more perfect.
"If you look at Tony’s last few fights that he’s fought, he looked damn good before, you know, the [Michael] Chandler finish, and every fight that he’s fought in the last two or three fights. He looked damn good right up until the end.
“So, it’s a fun, interesting fight with two fun and interesting characters.”
On whether another defeat for Ferguson would spell retirement, White added: “I would let Tony make that decision, but I’m sure if he loses to Paddy he would probably look at calling it.
“He’s had a great career. Done a lot of things, had a lot of big fights. That would probably be a wrap for him. Hopefully.”
UFC 296: Betting Odds
Paddy Pimblett is heavily fancied to win and is currently priced at 4/11 to secure a victory. For his opponent Ferguson to secure an upset win odds of 2/1 are available.
In the main event, Leon Edwards heads into this fight as a slight favourite to retain his title at odds of 4/5, with his opponent Covington priced at 1/1.
All UFC and MMA betting markets available at talkSPORT BET
*odds correct as of 10/12/23
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