UFC 296 is officially in the books – and the final pay-per-view card of the year well and truly delivered.
Brit Leon Edwards continued his reign as welterweight champion with a shutout win over Colby Covington in the main event of the Las Vegas card.
GETTYLeon Edwards locked horns with Colby Covington at UFC 296 last weekend[/caption]
GETTY‘Rocky’ dominated Covington for five rounds to score a 49-46 victory[/caption]
GETTYVictory over Covington saw Edwards register his second defence of the 170lbs title[/caption]
‘Rocky’ made the former interim champion pay for his crass pre-fight comments by picking him apart for five straight rounds on his way to earning a decision victory.
Perhaps the biggest talking point of the night was the brawl middleweight champion Sean Strickland got into with upcoming opponent Dricus Du Plessis.
Multiple cameras captured the encounter, which resulted in Strickland being ejected from the fighter VIP seats and leaving the arena.
Several interesting moments, however, weren’t aired by the broadcast cameras.
But luckily for you, SunSport was in attendance at the T-Mobile Arena and is on hand to fill you in on what you missed.
Donald Trump’s chat with Dana White
Former President of the United States Donald Trump was in attendance for the second pay-per-view card running.
The 77-year-old received a chorus of cheers as his image came up on the big screen and he walked into the arena to Kid Rock’s ‘American Badass”.
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Donald Trump was in attendance at UFC 296 – his second UFC event in a rowCHISANGA MALATA
CHISANGA MALATATrump was deep in conversation with UFC president Dana White[/caption]
He was once again given the best seat in the house alongside UFC president and CEO Dana White.
And the pair were deep in conversation for at least five minutes after The Apprentice star arrived cageside. One can only wonder what the two long-time pals were talking about.
Stormzy and Maya Jama
Power couple Stormzy and Maya Jama normally can’t go anywhere in the UK without being mobbed by cameras.
But they can manage to keep a somewhat low profile when they’re in the USA.
The Brits made a subdued entrance into the VIP seats next to press row midway through the card and looked to have thoroughly enjoyed themselves.
Jama is no stranger to UFC events having attended Edwards’ trilogy fight with Kamaru Usman at UFC 286 in March.
Brit power couple Stormzy and Maya Jama were in attendance at UFC 296INSTAGRAM@MAYAJAMA
Jack Black’s classy act
MMA fans in attendance broke into song when Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson made his walk to the octagon to take on Shavkat Rakhmonov.
Tenacious D’s ‘Wonderboy’ has long been the anthem of the fan favourite, who was sensationally walked out by the rock duo for his clash with the undefeated Kazakh.
The image of lead man Jack Black standing behind Thomspon as the karate ace prepared to enter the cage prompted scores of cheers from the thousands in the building.
The ‘School of Rock’ star sat within touching distance of SunSport for the fight and was promptly off his feet to console Thompson for his submission loss as he made his way backstage.
CHISANGA MALATAActor and musician Jack Black comforted Stephen Thompson after his defeat to Shavkat Rakhmonov[/caption]
Rapper’s delight
American rapper Lil Pump was a surprise constant presence throughout fight week.
The 23-year-old was in attendance at both the pre-fight press conference and the weigh-ins to support fellow Miami resident Covington in his bid to win UFC gold.
And he was sat amongst some of the biggest names in the sport in the fighters section for his pal’s ill-fated bid to become an undisputed champion at the third time of asking.
CHISANGA MALATALil Pump was in attendance to support Colby Covington[/caption]
Coach Strickland
Before getting chucked out of the arena, Strickland was happily enjoying the main card.
He particularly enjoyed Paddy Pimblett‘s lightweight clash with Tony Ferguson, which the Brit won via unanimous decision.
‘Tarzan’ enjoyed it much so that he stood up to film the final round and barked instructions at both men as they jostled for position on the ground.
CHISANGA MALATASean Strickland stood up for the entire third round of Paddy Pimblett’s clash with Tony Ferguson[/caption]