#UFC268: The ‘Nigerian Nightmare’ Kamaru Usman Beats Colby Covington To Retain His Title

Infoexpert24 reports that Kamaru Usman described Covington as a tough opponent after their rematch at UFC 268 at the Madison Square Garden on Sunday.

Usman and Colby Covington shared a hug and admitted a level of mutual respect moment came after the main event of UFC 268 on Saturday night, a fight where Usman retained the welterweight championship with a unanimous decision.

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The rematch didn’t have the same torrid pace as the first meeting between the two in December 2019. That fight saw the men combine for more than 300 significant strikes landed before Usman scored a TKO late in the fifth round. This go-round, both men showed respect for the other man’s power, picking and choosing when to engage with strikes.

Covington even chose to mix wrestling into his attack, trying to give Usman different looks and concerns. Usman was perfect in his takedown defense coming into the fight, having defended 20 of 20 attempted takedowns in his UFC career. Covington still used the threat to open up new attacking lanes, even as Usman actually won the wrestling exchanges with Covington failing on all 11 of his takedown attempts.

The biggest moment of the night came in the second round when Kamaru Usman dropped Covington twice with right hands near the end of the round.

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Despite having clearly been hurt 90 seconds earlier, Covington came out for the third round and continued to be dangerous with effective body kicks and combination punching that kept Usman from fully unloading. Those body kicks paid off in the fourth round, with Usman appearing to have been hurt when one landed solidly.

With the fight hanging in the balance entering the final round, Usman was able to lean on his sharp jab to control the action and separate him in the championship rounds.

Ultimately, Usman had done enough after five rounds to earn the nod on the judges’ scorecards, winning by scores of 48-47, 48-47, and 49-46.