Finally, the rematch of Kamaru Usman vs Colby Covington has been booked and is intended to headline a UFC 268 card currently rumored to be held at MSG. This is the absolute premier matchup in this division and the anticipation for a rematch has been overwhelming since their first bout.
Since their first fight, Usman has put together the best stretch of his career by far. A three-fight stretch filled with activity and highlight-reel knockouts, beating Gilbert Burns and coming out on top of two matchups with Jorge Masvidal. In the same period of time, Covington has only fought once, in which he dominated former champion, Tyron Woodley. Since then, he has been consistent on the notion that he is the only welterweight deserving of a title shot and that he will only fight for a title.
ESPN’s Brett Okamoto was first told the news via Dana White, also mentioning the date and venue is officially TBD (with the hope of MSG). With rumors swirling around this fight for months, we finally have a bout agreement signed.
Kamaru Usman vs. Colby Covington: The Most Anticpated Rematch in the UFC
Kamaru Usman (19-1, 14-0 UFC) hopes to continue the dominant streak he has been on with these last three fights which started with a dominant decision win over Jorge Masvidal on fight island. He followed that up with a sensational knockout over ex-teammate Burns. The final fight of this impressive streak came a few months back ago when he had the most impressive win in his career, his second win over “Gamebred” (although the first Covington fight puts up a good argument). Usman finished Masvidal with a vicious second-round knockout. Sleeping the man many thought could not be knocked out.
If Usman goes on to beat Covington at UFC 268, he will have defended his belt four times within a year and a half, and dominantly so. If he completes this impressive feat, there needs to be a serious conversation about him being alongside GSP in regards to dominance within the welterweight division. With that being said, on paper, “Chaos” poses Usman’s toughest challenge yet, as Covington is the man who gave him his toughest fight ever and now gets another crack at the code.
Colby Covington (16-2, 11-2 UFC) looks to get another shot at gold as well as avenging a loss he disputed heavily. After the loss against Usman, Covington quickly and consistently pointed to eye-poking, faked low blows and an early stoppage as to why Usman won. After rewatching the fight, many people thought these were reasonable arguments and others thought it was merely an attempt at promotion to get his next title shot.
Regardless of the real reason for Covington’s loss, he did not disappoint in his next match against Tyron Woodley. Convington would show out in a dominating performance against the ex-champion that would end in the fifth round due to a rib injury suffered by Woodley due to Covington’s dominant position on the ground.
After this fight, Convtingotn would go on a media tour declaring himself the undisputed number one contender and demanding his next fight be a title shot. This media tour resulted in a mixed reaction, many as well calling for the rematch against Usman and others complaining about Colby being inactive. While he was technically inactive in UFC terms, Convington is clearly the Welterweight that should be fighting for the title and per his demands, he is.
We finally have the most anticipated rematch in the UFC and it will undoubtedly live up to the hype. There is no prediction to be made other than that it will be absolute fireworks wherever this fight takes place. As it stands, this is the only fight currently scheduled for UFC 268.
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