NEW YORK – Kamaru Usman and Colby Covington went back and forth Thursday during a heated news conference, fueled by a crowd starved for conflict. Usman shoved Covington during the staredown, sending the fans to another level of raucousness.
There has not been a major MMA show in New York City in two years, but on Saturday, the big show returns to the Big Apple.
Usman defends his UFC welterweight title against Covington in the main event of UFC 268 at Madison Square Garden. The two fought at UFC 245 in December 2019 with Usman winning via fifth-round TKO in what is considered one of the best title fights in UFC history.
ESPN ranks Usman as No.1 on its pound-for-pound list. At welterweight, Usman is No. 1 and Covington is No. 3. On Saturday, Usman will look to further his legacy as one of the best 170-pound fighters ever against Covington, who is trying to prove that Usman’s TKO win two years ago was just a one-time occurrence.
Usman (19-1) has 14 straight wins in the UFC — the second-longest such UFC streak behind only Anderson Silva (16), who is considered one of the best of all time. The Nigeria-born Usman, who lives in Florida and trains in Colorado, is coming off a second-round knockout win over Jorge Masvidal at UFC 261 in April. Usman, 34, has four title defenses and is chasing the welterweight record of nine set by Georges St-Pierre.
Covington (16-2) has won eight of his last nine fights, with the only loss during that span coming to Usman. The California-born Covington, fighting out of Florida, has not fought since a fifth-round TKO win over Tyron Woodley in September 2020. Covington, 34, is the former UFC interim welterweight champion.
In the co-main event, UFC women’s strawweight champion Rose Namajunas defends her title against former champ Zhang Weili. Namajunas (10-4), a 29-year-old fighting out of Colorado, stopped Zhang in the first round with a head kick at UFC 261. Zhang (21-2), the first-ever UFC champion born in China, had her 21-fight winning streak snapped by Namajunas seven months ago.
Also on the card, former interim UFC lightweight champion Justin Gaethje faces former Bellator lightweight champion Michael Chandler in what could be a title eliminator. Plus, former lightweight champ Frankie Edgar meets Marlon “Chito” Vera in a bantamweight bout, and Shane Burgos looks to rebound against Billy Quarantillo.
Follow along as Brett Okamoto, Marc Raimondi and Jeff Wagenheim recap all the action or watch the fights on ESPN+ PPV.
Fight in progress: Lightweight: Justin Gaethje (22-3, 5-3 UFC, -210) vs. Michael Chandler (22-6, 1-1 UFC, +175)
Round 3: A true back-and-forth round. Chandler rallied and continued to pressure Gaethje throughout to take the round. 29-28 Gaethje.
Round 2: Gaethje continues to kick Chandler’s leg to the point where Chandler had to try and fight out of the southpaw stance. Gaethje dominated the second round. 20-18 Gaethje.
Round 1: An incredible back and forth round that featured a number of huge shots from both fighters. Chandler’s leg has already taken a good amount of damage. Gaethje 10-9.
Results:
Middleweight: Alex Pereira (4-1, 1-0 UFC) def. Andreas Michailidis (13-5, 1-2 UFC) (Watch this fight on ESPN+)
It was a good night for UFC newcomers — Pereira perhaps most of all.
The former GLORY kickboxing champion knocked out Michailidis with a devastating flying knee 18 seconds into the second round. Pereira, 34, from Brazil, landed the knee as Michailidis reached forward for a clinch. All four of Pereira’s wins in MMA have come via knockout.
Jeez 😳 #UFC268
— Tatiana Suarez (@tatianaufc) November 7, 2021
Pereira signed with the UFC this year to much fanfare. He holds two victories over UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya from their days in professional kickboxing. Michailidis won the first round by taking Pereira down and neutralizing his standup with grappling, but Pereira seemed unbothered.
Michailidis drops to 1-2 in the UFC.
Lightweight: Bobby Green (28-12-1, 9-7-1 UFC) def. Al Iaquinta (14-7-1, 9-6 UFC) by first-round TKO (Watch this fight on ESPN+)
The chants that resonated throughout the Garden — “I-a-QUIN-ta! I-a-QUIN-ta! — had barely morphed into fans roaring every time their local guy closed in on Green against the cage.
Then Green responded, landing a quick one-two that dropped Iaquinta. Green pounced with more punches, prompting referee Marc Goddard to push him off his fallen foe for the TKO at 3:25.
Green, who is 35 and from Fontana, California, broke out of a two-fight losing streak with an explosive finish.
First round knockout 🔥🔥 Green is so explosive and mental, great performance #UFC268
— Terrance McKinney (@twrecks155) November 7, 2021
Iaquinta, a 34-year-old from nearby Wantagh, New York, has lost four of his last five fights. The skid began with a 2018 bout in which Khabib Nurmagomedov won the vacant UFC lightweight title.
Middleweight: Chris Curtis (27-8, 1-0 UFC) def. Phil Hawes (11-3, 3-1 UFC) by first-round KO (Watch this fight on ESPN+)
For 12 years, Curtis toiled mostly on the regional circuit, one day hoping to get signed by the UFC. Last month, it finally happened. And now Curtis has his first UFC victory to boot.
The MMA veteran stopped Hawes via knockout at 4:27 of the first round in a bout he was handily losing up until that point. Hawes stepped in for a left hand and dropped his other hand, allowing Curtis to snap off a slick left hook and put Hawes on jelly legs. Curtis followed up on the ground with punches until referee Todd Anderson pulled him off.
“I wish you guys knew,” Curtis said in his postfight interview. “I wish I was here for about 10 years now. I beat so many people — I just never got that chance.”
Curtis, 34, has won six straight following a wild PFL playoff appearance in 2019. Curtis lost to Magomed Magomedkerimov in the PFL welterweight quarterfinals, then announced his retirement. But an alternate was needed for later in that night for the semifinals and Curtis was tabbed. It was one of the shortest retirements in MMA history, and Curtis lost in that second fight as well.
Wooooow hugeeeee debut for Curtis
— Belal Muhammad (@bullyb170) November 7, 2021
The Ohio-born Curtis, fighting out of Las Vegas, was signed by the UFC last month on short notice to fight Hawes, but Hawes declined to fight him at the last minute and the match was rescheduled.
“I’m here,” Curtis said. “But guys, I can’t tell you. I’ve given up 14 years of my life for this. I’ve missed my son’s birthdays. … And now I get to make my UFC debut at Madison Square Garden.”
The 32-year-old, New Jersey-born Hawes, fighting out of Florida, had a seven-fight winning streak snapped. — Raimondi
Middleweight: Nassourdine Imavov (11-3, 3-1 UFC) def. Edmen Shahbazyan (11-3, 4-3 UFC) by second-round TKO (Watch this fight on ESPN+)
France’s Imavov badly wanted to take Shahbazyan’s neck home with him, but ultimately settled for a TKO instead.
The 25-year-old middleweight repeatedly looked to secure a guillotine in the first two rounds against Shahbazyan, but couldn’t quite secure the finish. In the final minute of the second round, Imavov moved to a crucifix position and dropped elbows until referee Keith Peterson stopped the fight at the 4:42 mark.
It was a decisive finish to a very back-and-forth fight. Shahbazyan, who suffered his third consecutive defeat, did well with leg kicks early and nearly secured his own guillotine attempt in the second round. Imavov’s grappling proved to be a step ahead, however, and he also had some success in boxing exchanges.
Shahbazyan went into 2020 on a wave of momentum, but has now lost to Derek Brunson, Jack Hermansson and Imavov. — Okamoto
Welterweight: Ian Garry (8-0, 1-0 UFC) def. Jordan Williams (9-6, 0-3 UFC) by first-round KO (Watch this fight on ESPN+)
The undefeated Garry’s UFC debut was not going so well. The 23-year-old Irishman’s face was reddened from absorbing several punches as the final seconds of the first round ticked off the clock. Then Williams, who is 31 and from Englewood, Colorado, tried to punctuate the round with one final left hand. He missed.
Garry returned fire and did not miss. He stepped back to avoid the punch and unleashed a counter right hand that connected on the button and dropped Williams in his tracks. Referee Mike Beltran jumped right in to declare it a knockout at 4:59.
Afterward, Garry spoke about being a future champ with all the boldness of another Irish fighter. The former Cage Warriors champion even quoted Conor McGregor’s most famous line: “We’re not here to take part; we’re here to take over.”
From the hardest first round of his entire career, to put in an incredible ko with seconds remaining #UFC268 @ufc
— Juan Espino El Guapo (@juan_espino_ofi) November 6, 2021
Then Garry offered an addendum: “This is the takeover, Part 2.” — Wagenheim
Heavyweight: Chris Barnett (22-7, 1-1 UFC) def. Gian Villante (17-14, 7-11 UFC) by second-round TKO (Watch this fight on ESPN+)
Barnett probably won’t win a fitness competition any time soon, but “Beast Boy” can put together a highlight-reel finish in the cage — that’s for sure.
Barnett dropped Villante with a wicked spinning hook kick to the head and followed on the ground for a TKO victory at 2:23 of the second round. After the finish, Barnett did a front flip and landed butt first on the canvas as a celebration. Barnett is the first UFC heavyweight fighter to win via a spinning kick, per ESPN Stats & Information.
“My f—ing heel is killing me,” Barnett said after the fight. “My man has the head of a cinderblock. My foot is on fire right now.”
During that interview, Barnett praised the New York-born Villante in his final UFC fight. Before the finish, Barnett and Villante were trading hard kicks to the body and legs for the better part of two rounds. Barnett said he figured he had to switch it up with something flashy because Villante was matching him kick for kick.
Barnett, 35, picked up his first UFC victory on Saturday. Born in Spain and fighting out of Florida, he made his UFC debut in May after 12 years as a pro fighter in multiple disciplines all over the world. Villante, a 36-year-old Long Islander, has dropped four straight, the last three after moving up to heavyweight from light heavyweight. — Raimondi
Ok he’s awesome. I wanna hang out with him #UFC268
— Niko Price (@Nikohybridprice) November 6, 2021
Light heavyweight: Dustin Jacoby (16-5-1, 4-2-1 UFC) def. John Allan (13-7 1 NC, 0-2 1NC UFC) by unanimous decision (Watch this fight on ESPN+)
Jacoby, of Colorado, cruised to an easy win on the scorecards, following a slow 15-minute affair. The 33-year-old took the fight on short notice, but had no problem picking at Allan from range with jabs and front kicks. Jacoby rarely threw anything behind the distance strikes though, and never appeared to have Allan hurt.
Despite the fact he was at a clear disadvantage, Allan, of Curitiba, Brazil, didn’t appear to have a backup plan or just wasn’t capable of executing one. He continued to fight Jacoby at range and had very few moments of success offensively.
Jacoby remains unbeaten in the UFC. He is 4-0-1 since signing with the promotion last year. — Okamoto
Men’s featherweight: Melsik Baghdasaryan (7-1, 2-0 UFC) def. Bruno Souza (10-2, 0-1 UFC ) by unanimous decision (Watch this fight on ESPN+)
On the night before the New York City Marathon, these two fighters put in the miles, circling each other inside the cage for the better part of 15 minutes. Baghdasaryan was in pursuit, but unable to land a whole lot, though his leg kicks and occasional flurries were enough to earn him the 29-28 nod on all three scorecards.
For Baghdasaryan, who is 29 and from Glendale, California, it was his seventh win in a row, including his last two in the UFC. He just never was able to cut off the cage on his elusive opponent.
Souza, a 25-year-old Brazilian who fights out of Los Angeles, saw a 10-fight winning streak come to an end in a fight in which he avoided significant damage, but did not mount much offense. — Wagenheim
Men’s flyweight: Ode’ Osbourne (10-4, 2-2 UFC) def. C.J. Vergara (9-3-1, 0-1 UFC) by unanimous decision (Watch this fight on ESPN+)
No, Osbourne didn’t exactly end the fight in spectacular fashion. Vergara was on top, landing ground and pound until the bell.
But Osbourne did enough early to earn a unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) in the UFC 268 opener. Simply, Osbourne landed the harder blows in the first and second rounds. In the first, he blasted Vergara with some solid combinations and that continued in the second with Osbourne landing a sneaky left hand. In the third, Osbourne started hot with combinations, but seemed to tire and Vergara stole momentum with a takedown and top position.
Osbourne, 29, is now 2-2 in the UFC. The Jamaica-born Osbourne, who fights out of Milwaukee, is a Dana White’s Contender Series alum. Vergara, a 30-year-old Texan, was making his UFC debut. He missed weight by 1.4 pounds Friday. — Raimondi
Still to come:
Welterweight championship: Kamaru Usman (c) (19-1, 14-0 UFC, -310) vs. Colby Covington (16-2, 11-2 UFC, +250)
Strawweight championship: Rose Namajunas (c) (11-4, 8-3 UFC, -105) vs. Zhang Weili (21-2, 5-1 UFC, -115)
Men’s bantamweight: Frankie Edgar (23-9-1, 18-9-1 UFC, +135) vs. Marlon Vera (17-7-1, 11-6 UFC, -160)
Men’s featherweight: Shane Burgos (13-3, 6-3 UFC, -195) vs. Billy Quarantillo (16-3, 4-1 UFC, +165)
(c) = defending champion