UFC 268: Usman vs Covington 2 - Nov 6 🇺🇸

[Egg Shen]

yeh its the perfect setting.

Agreed on Villante, that guys been collecting a cheque for years. Surely only still around around cause he's Serra's boy.

[WeeAl]

The speculation I saw behind the change in bout order was so that Trevor Wittman and his fighters wouldn't be in the difficult situation of Wittman cornering three fights in a row. Who knows. 

Edited November 4, 2021 by WeeAl

[wandshogun09]

And his fans act like he’s some master promo when he’s almost Tito Ortiz/Brendan Schaub level. The state of this…

Usman turned up dressed as Pat Butcher and he still comes off looking better than this div. 

[Zebra Kid Mark]

37 minutes ago, WeeAl said:

The speculation I saw behind the change in bout order was so that Trevor Wittman and his fighters wouldn't be in the difficult situation of Wittman cornering three fights in a row. Who knows. 

That's the reason I heard. It makes sense to me really. 

What a card, I cannot wait.

My predictions

Colby, Rose, Vera, Burgos & Chandler.

[wandshogun09]

1 minute ago, Zebra Kid Mark said:

My predictions

Colby…

[Cousin Jim Bob]

I don't care if its more interesting for the division if Colby wins. I hope that prick gets checked again. Make it even worse than Masvidal in the 2nd Usman fight.

He is such a stupid twat he makes prime Tito Ortiz and Frank Mir seem likeable in comparison. Fuck him.  Hope he gets ironed out again.

[David]

8 hours ago, Cousin Jim Bob said:

I don't care if its more interesting for the division if Colby wins. I hope that prick gets checked again. Make it even worse than Masvidal in the 2nd Usman fight.

He is such a stupid twat he makes prime Tito Ortiz and Frank Mir seem likeable in comparison. Fuck him.  Hope he gets ironed out again.

[wandshogun09]

[Egg Shen]

wonder if he still gets paid?

[David]

Knowing what we do about fighters, this kind of chat immediately before a big fight is never great. Usman commented:

Quote

As far as me facing [Chimaev], you know I’m in a point in life to where I understand how much this takes from you. 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. They have to make sense for me now. If he’s able to get there, then we’ll talk about it at that point.

I want to be that champion who does it all. I want to do it on my own time, like Khabib [Nurmagomedov]. I know a lot of people have been throwing a lot of shade, saying a lot of things about Khabib leaving when he wanted to leave. That’s how you do it. Even Georges St-Pierre, that’s how you do it.

You leave when you want to. You don’t let the sport retire you. So yeah when I feel like that time’s there, it’s time for me to go.

Let’s be honest, I’ve kind of done what there is to do in MMA, in UFC. This Saturday live on ESPN pay-per-view at Madison Square Garden, what’s bigger than that? I’ve headlined pay-per-views before. The first event back with fans and look how that looked, how that pay-per-view went. Fought Colby the first time, T-Mobile Arena, headlined that. Went all the way to Abu Dhabi, headlined that in Fight Island 1. What is there to do in the sport? I’ve done it all.

Talk about legacy, look what I’ve done to this point. When I’m done and I walk away, guys are going to look back and say wow, he was special. Just like we’ve done with some of the greats. So if I’m looking at legacy, I want to do something that’s never been done before. These guys don’t really scare me anymore.

I know it may be nothing, but when you're discussing the end, sometimes the end comes up and bites you right on the arse.

Edited November 5, 2021 by David

[Egg Shen]

yeh i was thinking the same, if Colby pushes him hard again Saturday he could do what GSP did post-Hendricks.

Him talking about wanting to face Canelo in boxing though? utter nonsense.

[wandshogun09]

Thought I’d revisit the first Usman vs Covington fight now we’re just over 24 hours away from the big rematch. Haven’t seen it since around the time it happened. I can’t remember it in great detail, I just recall loving it and obviously I remember the finish fondly.

It went down in December 2019, headlining the big end of the year PPV. Both men were 15-1 coming in with their only blemishes being early in their careers. They’d both since redeemed themselves with a series of dominant wins. Usman had became the champion in his previous fight, trouncing Tyron Woodley over 5 rounds in the March. This would be his first title defence. I can’t remember what the general feeling on the fight was going in. There’d been a lot of needle between them in the buildup so there definitely wasn’t any indifference. Everyone was pretty much on one side or the other. But as far as the fight itself went, I’m not sure expectations were particularly high. I don’t think anyone was anticipating a dud but with two wrestlers who’d been so dominant up to this point, nobody really knew what to expect. We’d seen very little of either being troubled in previous fights so it remained to be seen how either would respond to adversity.

Kamaru Usman vs Colby Covington - UFC Welterweight Title

UFC 245: Usman vs Covington

December 14th 2019

Las Vegas, Nevada 

Usual PPV team of Jon Anik, Joe Rogan and Daniel Cormier calling this one. Marc Goddard is on reffing duties. Here we go.

Round 1: Fast pace immediately to start with. Usman orthodox, Covington southpaw. Both seem to have the same idea and are firing off jabs aggressively. Less than a minute in and already USA chants. Piss off. Usman starting to connect more but Colby is constantly putting pressure on and going for volume. Usman keeps landing the straight right though, he’s not even setting it up with a jab he just keeps sending it straight down the pipe and finding the target. Man, they’re really going for it early on here.

Nothing devastating landed for either man but it wasn’t for lack of trying and both got their digs in. Usman’s been switching lefty a few times in this round. Usman going to the body now with some success. Really entertaining opening round and both fought well but I thought Usman landed the better, cleaner shots throughout. Quality over quantity and I liked the body work. It’s an Usman 10-9 for me.

Round 2: More of the same. Usman’s using a front kick to the body now which doesn’t look like fun at all. Covington firing back with a flurry. There’s a great bit where they’re both just trading hard jabs at the same time and neither are taking a backwards step. “Colby” chants now. Wrong ‘uns. Covington throws a knee and his foot catches Usman below the belt, forcing a brief time out. Colby’s brought this up a few times since. The old ‘phantom groin shot’. It did look a bit high, maybe a touch of gamesmanship from Usman to slow Covington’s momentum. Or maybe it grazed the cup and genuinely effected him. Either way, it was nothing. Wasn’t something that effected the course of the fight and Usman was back at it within a few seconds. Wasn’t like he was trying to milk the break or anything. Rogan’s off now, banging on about Covington’s pace and right when he’s about to claim he’s outworking Usman, Usman starts tagging Colby to the body and head with some tasty shots. Good stuff here. Very competitive round but I had Covington edging it 10-9.

Round 3: Usman kicking at the body again and getting behind that jab. Usman’s jab was overlooked for a while. Wasn’t really until the Gilbert Burns fight where he knocked Burns down with it that I really saw people talk up Usman’s jab but it’s on point here as well and this was well over a year before the Burns fight. He’s working the body nice here as well. Constantly attacking and digging in with punches and front kicks to the gut. Colby can’t get much going this round and he’s starting to react whenever Usman even looks like throwing to the body. With less than a minute left on the clock, Covington pokes Usman in the eye. Again, he’s since accused Usman of faking it but, while the bollock shot earlier might’ve been questionable, this was a clear cut eye poke. It was accidental, Colby threw a kick and framed off with his hand out and caught Usman in the eye. It happens. But yeah, it definitely did happen, despite Colby’s claims to the contrary. The action resumes and it seems the poke pissed Usman off more than anything. In the dying seconds of the round…

That’s the one. Have that, MAGA boy! It’s a good thing for Colby that the round was just about to end because that was a heavy blow.

Oh yes. It was a bad one alright. Conan Silveira does a good job of keeping Covington composed and focused in the corner but, still, his jaw is jacked and we’ve still got the championship rounds to get through. Usman 10-9.

Usman’s said a few times that he thought Covington telling his corner that his jaw was broken was his way of looking for a way out, hoping the corner would pull him out. But…

Round 4: They’re right back at it and Covington is bringing it. Despite what Usman says, this doesn’t look like a man who was on the verge of quitting to me;

As much as I can’t stand the prick, it’s moments like this which really reveal what a fighter is made of. His jaw is scrambled at this point and he’s coming at Usman and bringing the fight to his door. He’s a fucking twat but I have to begrudgingly respect the toughness and heart he showed in that moment. The dickhead. He’s probably having his best round here as well, which is nuts. I suppose the jaw injury has given him more of a sense of urgency. Sweet uppercut from Colby. Both landing late in the round but it’s a Covington round, 10-9. So I have them dead even going into the last round. A lot of times I rewatch these fights and score it differently than I remember having it the first time. But this one is exactly as I remember it. 2-2 going into the fifth.

The tension and atmosphere here is great. And that’s with me already knowing how this story ends. Covington is bloody and swollen waving his arms about to fire up the crowd, and Usman looks deadly focused as his corner keep saying “his jaw is broken, his jaw is broken”.

“What a couple of absolute warriors! And this is a rivalry that likely is not gonna end tonight. Fifth and final round to determine the Welterweight champion.” - Jon Anik

Round 5: Colby kind of picking up where he left off in the last round. He’s looking sharp in the exchanges here. Usman’s still connecting but Covington is landing more often. He’s not really hurting Usman but he’s certainly outworking him so far in this round. “Colby” chants again. With less than 2 minutes left in the fight, Usman drills Covington with a straight right that stumbles him a bit. And the floodgates are open. Usman smells blood in the water and is going to town on him. A couple more rights find the target and then it happens. Colby gets put on his arse twice with flush shots that rattle his already smashed up face.

Going…

Going…

Gone…

It’s done. Goddard steps in with only 50 seconds on the clock. He’s seen enough. Looking at the stoppage, I remember initially thinking it might’ve been slightly early but rewatching it I definitely think it was the right call. The fight was only going one way at that point.

Winner - Kamaru Usman by TKO. Round 5 - 4:10.

Amazing fight. Every bit as good as I remembered. It really was neck and neck the whole way as well. Right up until that last round it was all there for the taking. And even then, I thought Colby was winning that round for the first 3 minutes. But Usman turned it on when it counted and even if Goddard hadn’t stopped it when he did, those knockdowns would’ve swung that round, and surely the fight, for Usman regardless.

The difference maker in the end was Usman’s physicality and power. They were and are so evenly matched in so many ways but that’s the one thing that separates them. Covington has never shown a great deal of pop in his strikes, he’s effective in just drowning opponents with his relentless volume and pace. Usman picks his shots more but he does have that extra zap behind them. And that’s probably gonna be even more apparent this time because he’s only improved since their first meeting, especially in the striking. And he’s been more active. Covington has only fought once in the 2 years since this fight and it was against a badly faded Tyron Woodley. Usman’s beat Jorge Masvidal twice, the second time in brutal fashion, and put Gilbert Burns away. He’s been on fire this year especially. Not saying Covington can’t win. I’ve always said he’s got the best chance of anyone in the division. But the smart money at this point has to be on Usman going 2-0. One thing I’d be very interested to see this time is if they end up grappling at all. Nobody is really talking about that because I think everyone’s expecting a carbon copy of the first fight and that was all standup. I don’t think there was a single takedown attempt from either. I’d like to see them switch things up this time because that would only add another layer to an already fascinating rematch.

USMAN! 🇳🇬 

[David]

As much as I want Covington to win, I have a feeling as we head in that Usman may stop him. His striking has improved so much since that last fight, which seems like ages ago for Usman. The three fights he's had since he's looked razor sharp with his striking, getting better and better, culminating in that cracking KO of Masvidal.

On the other hand, we've not seen much of Colby at all, save for a fight against T-Wood, and one fight in almost two years can fuck with a fighters rhythm. 

Man, I honestly dunno. It's too close to call. I'm really looking forward to it though, because say what you will about Covington but the guy is a fucking stud in the cage. He's not backing down an inch, Usman ain't backing down an inch. It's going to be awesome.

[wandshogun09]

I love the Gaethje vs Chandler fight but this is a load of bollocks.

Gaethje’s last fight was a title shot over a year ago, he got submitted. Chandler’s last fight was a title shot given off the back of one win, he got knocked out. Islam Makhachev is on a 9 fight winning streak, finished his last 3 and ran through Dan Hooker faster than Chandler did to earn his shot. Call me a cynic but I get the feeling they don’t want Makhachev near the title yet because he’s the closest thing to Khabib in the division now and a stylistic nightmare that would basically end any hope of McGregor getting the belt back. Watch them Jon Fitch the fuck out of Makhachev now, keep giving him killers until he loses so they don’t have to give him the shot.

Bollocks. 

[Egg Shen]

I dunno if i agree with that. I dont really take Dana's answer there seriously as things change quickly, but i dont see them 'Fitching' Makhachev at all, especially with Khabib at his side. It feels like the best thing they have to continue on the Khabib legacy. It took some time but i feel its really catching on now.

If Gaethje or Chandler are next, id say Makhachev is no more than one fight away from getting his shot.