Kamaru Usman remains the welterweight champion after a unanimous decision win over Colby Covington. This was their rematch fight at UFC 268 and took place at Madison Square Garden in New York City. This was a grueling five-round fight, but Usman proved to be the better player. 

“There was a lot of trash talk, a lot of bad blood…I’m sure there’s going to still be some after tonight. But this guy is a tough son of a b—-. He’s tough as s—,” Usman said in his post fight interview. 

The two also fought at UFC 245 in December 2019 and ended with Usman winning during the fifth-round TKO “in what many people consider to be the best title fights in the history of the UFC.” But the first round of the 268 already differed from the first fight between the two as neither of the wrestlers attempted to take the other down and rather decided to go back to their roots. Usman proved to be the better in these exchanges. 

In the second round, Covington clipped Usman with a left hook and then waded in, which proved to be a fatal mistake as Usman dropped him right after with another left hook. Covington quickly got up before Usman could finish him off and survived to fight until the next round. 

Covington after nearly getting knocked out during the second round, looked surprisingly fresh as he was hitting Usman with good combinations throughout the round and almost became the first person in UFC history to take Usman down in the third round. He got Usman down to the mat but it was not recorded as a takedown due to technicalities even though he was not able to pull through, this clearly showed Covington had what it took to beat Usman and make the fight significantly more competitive.

The fourth round was Covington’s best round by far as he clearly hurt Usman wiht a left body kick and was able to push through the pain Usman inflicted upon him. The wrestlers finished strong in the fifth and final round as the fight almost potentially ended at a tie with both receiving two rounds. Covington connected some heavy hits and went for the finish but Usman immediately responded with a hard right hook late in the round. 

This hard right hook almost knocked Covington out which ultimately led to Usman outscoring Covington 123-107 in the significant strikes category. This was also the second most landed strike against Usman behind the 143 Covington had at UFC 245 against him.  

“Usman is just the best ever. He’s the best welterweight of all time,” UFC president Dana White said at the post fight news conference. “He’s on his way to possible [greatest of all time] status.” Usman’s record is 20-1 and has 15 straight wins in the UFC which is the second-longest streak behind the current record holder Anderson Silva who has 16 straight wins and is also considered to be one of the best people to play the sport in the history of the UFC. 

But despite the issues the two fighters had with each other, they still have respect for each other after the game as Covington stated in his post-game interview, “If that’s the pound-for-pound No. 1 fighter in the world, I just had two epic fights with him and won rounds,” Covington said. “Where does that put me in the pound-for-pound rankings?” Dana White also agreed with him as he stated, “the guy is so durable and tough. His fighting style is tough to beat,” White said of Covington. “And his cardio is insane. I don’t think anybody else beats that guy but Usman. If Usman doesn’t exist, he’s the world champion. Unfortunately for him, Usman does.” 

Usman stated that he had to give Covington respect and also said he would not announce what he said to Covington as that belongs between the two of them. “When you share an Octagon with someone this tough, you can’t help it…that respect is gonna come.”

Ultimately, the rematch resembled the first with the exception of Usman finishing the match in the fifth round. These two have produced 10 high-quality wrestling matches and pose a great challenge to each other. This win only further proved that Usman is the best welterweight in the world. His title reign may not be as impressive as other people such as Anderson Silva but he has proven that he can beat top names in his division which says a lot.