UFC 268 – Kamaru Usman vs. Colby Covington – Fight Analysis & Prediction

On November 7, another great UFC PPV will be held at Madison Square Garden in New York. The headlining of the event will be a welterweight title clash between Kamaru Usman and Colby Covington.

Kamaru Usman vs. Colby Covington

Kamaru Usman has a nickname for a reason. The Nigerian Nightmare is destroying everyone, and everything that crossed his way. He earned 14 victories in a row in the UFC and has defended his title 4 times already. This is going to be the second title bout with Colby Covington.

Colby was Kamaru's first-ever test to defend his title at UFC 245. It was a very close fight, but in the 5th round, Kamaru earned a TKO victory.

After their first bout, The Nigerian Nightmare fought 3 times and defeated Jorge Masvidal twice, once via UD and on the second time via brutal KO, and also defeated Brazilian contender Gilbert Burns via TKO in the 3rd round.

Colby fought only once since their first bout against former welterweight champion Tyron Woodley and defeated him in the 5th round via TKO. The referee stopped the fight after Tyron broke his ribs and gave up. In the UFC, Colby earned 11 victories and suffered losses twice. He defeated amazing fighters like Demian Maia, Rafael Dos Anjos, Robbie Lawler, and many others.

At the end of the day, we can say that both fighters are very experienced. They respect each other's grappling skills; that's why we did not witness any grappling exchange during their first bout. However, they also have good striking. Colby is faster, but Kamaru is throwing some bombs. Usman has a phenomenal jab, and also his 10CM reach advantage will be a massive advantage during striking.

Usman was considered a boring fighter via unanimous decision victories, but he earned 3 TKO victories in his 4 title defenses. However, Colby says that he only defeated lightweights (Masvidal and Burns were lightweights before), and knocking them out means nothing.

Kamaru opens this bout as the massive favorite with the odds, around 1.3. I think Kamaru Usman will earn another victory in this bout, but more likely via decision. It is tough to predict anything with an early finish or unanimous decision while these athletes are fighting, but I think Kamaru is way better, and 1.3 are excellent odds for him.