Kamaru Usman and Colby Covington face off on Saturday in the main event of UFC 268 in a welterweight title bout at Madison Square Garden.
These two teams last faced off in 2019 and Usman was able to come away with a victory. It was late in the fifth round that he won by knockout. Usman outstruck Covington 175-143 and he also had two knockdowns.
Kamaru Usman overall has a 19-1 record and since coming into the UFC he has won 14 games in a row. Usman’s last fight came against Jorge Masvidal in April of 2021, and it was early in the second round he finished the fight by knockout. Two fights ago against Gilbert Burns, Usman also won by knockout. Usman is averaging 4.63 significant strikes per minute while absorbing 2.40 significant strikes per minute. Usman is also averaging 3.27 takedowns every 15 minutes, and he is successful on 48 percent of his attempts. He has also stopped 100 percent of his opponent's takedown attempts.
On the other side of this matchup is Colby Covington who sits with a 16-2 record overall and he is coming off a big win against Tyron Woodley. Covington outstruck Woodley 78-34 and it was early in the 5th round he finished the fight by knockout. Covington is averaging 4.12 significant strikes per minute while absorbing 2.86 significant strikes per minute. He is a wrestler first averaging 4.61 takedowns every 15 minutes. Covington averages 50 percent successful takedown attempts and stops 75 percent of his opponent's takedown attempts. In this fight, Covington needs to try and find a way to get the fight to the ground, or he will be finished again.
Usman finished the first fight against Covington, and he’s going to do it again in this one. Look for Covington to have issues getting the fight to the ground, and he is going to take a ton of damage too. As the fight goes on, Usman is going to wear down Covington and finish the fight by knockout.
AUTHOR: Shane Mickle
