By Akinwale Kasali
Nigeria’s UFC Welterweight Champion, Kamaru Usman, has, successfully, defended his title. He defeated Colby Covington by a unanimous decision
The UFC 268 bout rematch took place at at the Madison Square Garden in the early hours of Sunday, November 7th, 2021, saw the Champion.
Usman acknowledged that Covington has improved from their first bout, but the Nigerian subsequently proclaimed himself the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world, and Covington, “the second-best guy” in the division.
The 34-Year old Nigerian became victorious over Covington, the former interim welterweight champion, dropped to 16-3-0, as the New York State Athletic Commission judges Derek Cleary (49-46), Dave Tirelli (48-47) and Sal D’Amato (48-47) all submitted scorecards in Usman’s favor.
Going into the fight, Covington said he had recalibrated his approach and would not fight the same way as he did in their first encounter. The beginning of the opening round revealed a more cautious fighter, though as the round progressed, Usman’s pressure appeared to force Covington into a defensive posture.
Usman got the first knockdown of the fight late in the second round, and attempted to finish Covington with a flurry of punches before the bell rang.
He started the third round where he left off, but Covington finished the five minutes by having Usman pinned against the cage.
The two spent much of the fourth and fifth rounds exchanging strikes. Covington staggered Usman with a shot in the fifth, but was unable to put him away.
Usman and Covington headlined the fifth UFC pay-per-view event at Madison Square Garden, and had a pair of rematches in the co-main event and main event.
With this resounding victory, Usman has been well-established now as the best welterweight on the planet, and this win is just a further proof.
The first fight between him and Covington was a barnburner, but Usman had the upper hand in that one too, finishing him in the fifth round.
Covington talked and worked his way to a rematch with a fifth-round TKO of his own over Tyron Woodley but still wasn’t up to the task of unseating the champion.
Usman’s title reign might not have the length of other greats like Georges St-Pierre and Anderson Silva, but his ability to stay busy and beat the top names in his division has been impressive.
Of course, there are still challenges out there. Khamzat Chimaev continues to climb the ranks in the division. Leon Edwards could be on the horizon if he gets past Jorge Masvidal in December.
But those fighters better make their case soon. The 34-year-old Usman has begun talking like a fighter who is considering retirement in the not-so-distant future.
“As far as me [fighting Chimaev], you know I’m in a point in life to where I understand how much this takes from you,” the champion told reporters at media day. “I’ve been nine weeks now away from my daughter, and FaceTime does help, but it doesn’t do it justice, as far as being there each and every day. So obviously I don’t know how much longer I’m willing to do this.”
Usman’s dominance has been fun to watch and an intriguing storyline in the division, but it sounds like fans should be enjoying it as long as it lasts.
