The UFC’s final pay-per-view of the year continues to gain depth with the addition of Vicente Luque vs. Ian Machado Garry.
UFC CEO Dana White announced Sunday that Luque (22-9-1 MMA, 15-5 UFC) vs. Garry (13-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) has been added to UFC 296, which takes place Dec. 16 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims expected on ESPN and ESPN+ (via Instagram):
The matchup pits the Kill Cliff FC teammates up against one another and will mark Garry’s most high-profile test to date.
Luque, No. 11 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie welterweight rankings, nearly saw his career come to an end in 2022 after he sustained a brain bleed following a knockout loss to Geoff Neal. He took an extended layoff, then returned this past month to outwork Rafael dos Anjos to a unanimous decision in the UFC on ESPN 51 main event.
The Brazilian will try to build momentum again when he meets No. 13-ranked Garry. The brash Irishman is on the rise in the division after his recent domination of Neil Magny at UFC 292 this past month, but Luque is his biggest challenge yet on paper.
The latest UFC 296 lineup now includes:
With the addition, the current UFC 296 lineup includes:
- Champ Leon Edwards vs. Colby Covington – for welterweight title
- Champ Alexandre Pantoja vs. Brandon Royval – for flyweight title
- Shavkat Rakhmonov vs. Stephen Thompson
- Paddy Pimblett vs. Tony Ferguson
- Vicente Luque vs. Ian Machado Garry
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 296.
