Edwards defeated Kamaru Usman to win the belt in the summer of 2022, and he followed that up with a successful title defence against Usman in March of this year.

Meanwhile, Covington fell to then-champion Usman in two bouts but was last seen in the Octagon earning a unanimous decision victory over Jorge Masvidal in March 2022.

That sets up the championship fight between the two men at UFC 296, and one interested observer thinks he knows how the contest will play out.

Gilbert Burns, speaking as a Stake.com ambassador, sits fourth in UFC's welterweight rankings and is not giving much of a chance to No. 3-ranked Covington to pull off the upset. 

"I think Leon can definitely finish him," Burns said. "Leon has got really crisp striking and he is overall a really underrated fighter in this welterweight division - even if he is the champion!

"People really do not give him a lot of credit and it might be due to the fact that he doesn't fight too often. However, I think he can defend the takedown attempts and then get the finish against Colby.

"If you look at the Usman fights, Covington really struggled when he went southpaw and I just think Leon is too accurate and too technical."