MMAOB staff writer Adam Martin takes a deeper look at the main event of UFC 268, a five-round UFC welterweight title fight rematch fight between champion Kamaru Usman and challenger Colby Covington. The event takes place on Saturday, November 6 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York.
Kamaru Usman (-300)
Usman (19-1) is the UFC welterweight champion. The 33-year-old American is a perfect 14-0 in the UFC with wins over the likes of Covington, Gilbert Burns, Jorge Masvidal twice, Tyron Woodley, Rafael dos Anjos, Sean Strickland, and Demian Maia. Usman is quite simply the most dominant welterweight we have seen since the prime years of Georges St-Pierre. He has some of the most dominant wrestling in the sport today and he has improved his striking to the point where he is a legitimate knockout artist. He also has an incredible chin, great cardio, and the heart of a champion. Usman beat Covington the first time by knockout and he will be looking to get the job done in style the second time around. Usman has all the confidence in the world knowing that he has already beaten Covington and finished him as he makes his return to the cage in this exciting rematch.
Colby Covington (+250)
Covington (16-2) is the No. 1 contender in the UFC welterweight division. The 32-year-old American is 11-2 overall in the UFC. He has notable wins over the likes of Tyron Woodley, Robbie Lawler, Rafael dos Anjos, Demian Maia, and Max Griffin, with his lone losses in the Octagon coming against Usman and Warlley Alves. Covington is one of the best grapplers in the welterweight division and he has been able to control and dominate most of his opponents on the mat. As well, he has improved his striking on the feet and he has the cardio to go the full 25 minutes. Covington is one of the best in the division and we will see what happens now that he has a second chance to fight Usman.
Fight Breakdown: The main event of UFC 268 should be an awesome rematch of one of 2019’s best fights. We all saw what happened the first time around, as both Covington and Usman went toe-to-toe for nearly 25 minutes before Usman finished Covington late in the fight. Two years later, and we get to see these two back at it again. Since the first time they met inside the Octagon, we have seen Usman beat Jorge Masvidal twice and Gilbert Burns once. On the other hand, we have only seen Covington fight once, an injury TKO win over Tyron Woodley. While it’s certainly possible that Covington has made the necessary adjustments during his time off, it’s taking a guess to say that he has. On the other hand, we have seen Usman just absolutely wrecking everyone in his path. While I expect this rematch to be a competitive fight just like the first one was, I still have to go with Usman to defend his belt, and I’m thinking we might get the job done with another late knockout.
Prediction: Kamaru Usman
