Report – Kamaru Usman, Colby Covington rematch set for UFC 268 on November 6th.

A welterweight championship rematch between reigning division champion, Kamaru Usman and former interim welterweight champion, the #1 ranked, Colby Covington has been booked to headline UFC 268 which is tentatively expected to take place on November 6th. — with Madison Square Garden in New York City also targeted to host the pay-per-view showcase.

Originally meeting back in December of 2019, Auchi native, Usman handed Clovis-born wrestler, Covington an eventual fifth round knockout loss in a headlining bout of UFC 245 to score the first successful defence of his throne. 

Most recently, Usman, who has since moved to Colorado to train under the renowned Trevor Wittman at the ONX Labs scored the fourth successful defence of his reign in the form of a stunning one-punch knockout over Jorge Masvidal in the second round of their UFC 261 rematch in April at the Vystar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida. 

For Covington, now under the MMA Masters banner in the ‘Sunshine State’ — the polarizing wrestling ace took home an eventual fifth round TKO win over common-opposition and former welterweight champion, Tyron Woodley as a result of a rib injury in the main event of UFC Vegas 11 back in September. ESPN MMA reporter, Brett Okamoto was first to report the news of the bout as per UFC president, Dana White. 

Undefeated since his second professional bout a stunning 18-fights ago, Auchi finisher, Usman has steamrolled each and every opponent along his route to the welterweight hot seat, taking four successful title defences since. 

Following a championship-clinching win over Woodley in March 2019, Usman stopped Covington, took a short notice decision win over Masvidal, finished Gilbert Burns, and then ended his rivalry with Masvidal via his spectacular April knockout win. 

A former interim kingpin at 170lbs, Clovis native, Covington took the interim throne via an impressive June 2018 unanimous decision victory over former lightweight champion, Rafael dos Anjos. After a period of inactivity, Covington was stripped of his interim title and then took another judging win over Robbie Lawler to setup his first bout with Usman two years ago. 

Ross Markey

Senior writer for FightBook MMA. An aspiring mixed martial arts reporter based in Ireland. Producer of news articles, interviews, opinion features, and exclusive features such as, ‘The Fallout’, ‘The Breakdown, and, ‘This Week In MMA’.