The Nigerian Nightmare’ retains welterweight title after breaking Covington’s jaw.
Colby Covington
Referee Marc Goddard stepped in at 4:10 of the final round – the fifth latest finish in UFC history – as Usman retained his welterweight title in a thrilling slugfest at the T-Mobile Arena. That made it 15 straight wins for Usman (16-1), who is now 11-0 in UFC.
At the time of the stoppage, one judge had it at 2-2, while one had it 3-1 for Usman, and another 3-1 for Covington, who fell to just his second loss in the promotion.
“This one is not just for me, this one is for the whole entire world right now,” Usman told Joe Rogan in the Octagon, after finally settling the score with the controversial, outspoken Covington.
Covington could barely stand to listen to Usman’s victory speech, charging out of the Octagon to the back as soon as the Nigerian’s hand was raised.
But even in defeat, “Chaos” established himself as one of the greatest fighters on the planet with an excellent display that will surely still see his stock rise.
It was an extremely close fight that could have gone either way had it gone the distance, as both men met in the middle of the Octagon and traded blows from start to finish, eschewing their world-class wrestling abilities in favour of an all-out brawl.
But Covington’s fortunes changed when Usman broke his jaw at the end of the third round with a hard right.
“I wasn’t aware [of the broken jaw], I was catching him with some left hooks,” Usman said.
“I made a lot of mistakes tonight. I know I hit way harder than him. I’m gonna keep improving and give you guys a show each and every time.”
Indeed, while Usman was hitting harder and picking his shots, Covington was trying to overwhelm the champion with striking volume, Mirror Post report.
USMAN!! #UFC245 pic.twitter.com/DcYEMet1rm
— Ben Simmons is just a tall Rondo (@micheal_SLC) December 15, 2019
