BEVERLY HILLS, December 14, (THEWILL) – Nigerian Nightmare Kamaru Usman knocked out Colby Covington Sunday morning to retain his welterweight title at the UFC 245.
With the clock winding down in their UFC 245 main event which started Saturday night, Usman (16-1 MMA, 11-0 UFC) finished former interim champ Colby Covington at 4:10 of Round 5 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
As Covington (15-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC) walked out to Kurt Angle’s WWE theme song, he was met with boos and middle fingers from the crowd, although the controversial competitor also had a noticeable share of supporters. A calm, cool and collected Usman made the walk second, draped in the Nigerian flag.
When it came time to fight, the two combatants, who did not touch gloves at the outset, delivered. Known for their wrestling abilities, not one takedown attempt was tried. Covington set a frenetic pace in the first, while Usman was more calculated with his strikes.
After three rounds of back-and-forth face-punching, Covington informed his corner he thought he broke his jaw. Upon replay, a hard straight right was likely the culprit.
Fighting through the pain in the fourth round, Covington showed tremendous heart. He stunned Usman on multiple occasions and dug deep to return to his first-round pacing.
With the fight being relatively close, there was no consensus leader entering the fifth. It could have been anyone’s fight. Midway through the round, Usman showed championship mettle and began to land some of his hardest punches of the fight.
In a wild fifth-round sequence, Usman battered Covington, dropping him to the canvas. Covington survived, but only for so long. He was promptly met with more hard shots from the champion. As a bloody, battered, and swollen Covington clutched onto a single leg, Usman’s hammer fists finished the fight.
Upon the stoppage from referee Marc Goddard, the bloodied and battered Covington protested, but to no avail.
After the fight, Covington left the cage and ran into the back. He did not give a post-fight interview.
Conversely, Usman took the high road. The champion celebrated his win, but also turned attention to a tragedy his family had recently endured. Usman’s brother Mohammed, a pro MMA heavyweight, lost his son in a drowning accident earlier this year.
The victory means Usman has now won 15 straight outings. Undefeated in the UFC, Usman now holds wins over Covington, former welterweight champ Tyron Woodley, former lightweight champ Rafael Dos Anjos, and Demian Maia, among others.
As for Covington, the loss is only the second of his career. The defeat snaps a seven-fight win streak the American was riding into UFC 245. Before the loss to Usman, the American Top Team product was unblemished outside of a 2015 loss to Warlley Alves.
The welterweight title bout was the UFC 245 main event. It aired on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN2 and early prelims on UFC Fight Pass/ESPN+.
