New York, November 7: Kamaru Usman retained his welterweight championship by unanimous decision over Colby Covington in the second instalment of their rivalry at UFC 268.
Usman and Covington went head-to-head in a rematch after the former won via a fifth-round TKO at UFC 245 in December 2019.
It was the same result at Madison Square Garden, where champion Usman outlasted Covington for his 15th consecutive victory – the second longest streak in UFC history behind Anderson Silva (16) – in New York on Saturday (November 6).
Usman almost finished Covington in the second round with some huge left strikes, though the latter rallied and hurt the titleholder courtesy of a body kick in the fourth.
The Usman Era continues 👑
— UFC (@ufc) November 7, 2021
[ @Usman84kg | #UFC268 | #AndStill ] pic.twitter.com/YMdKDxy54f
Ultimately, Usman (20-1) produced enough to remain the dominant force in the welterweight division.
"There was a lot of trash talk, a lot of bad blood," Usman said in the octagon after the fight.
"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***."
"He's tough -- he's super tough," Usman said. "I wanted to get crazy and get him out of there. But that's not what the best do."
Covington (16-3) added: "Love me or hate me, I'm just getting started. You haven't seen the best of Colby 'Chaos' Covington yet."
In the co-main event, Rose Namajunas (11-4) successfully defended her strawweight crown thanks to a split decision against Zhang Weili (21-3).