Kamaru Usman Makes Claim for Greatest Welterweight of All Time
In a highly anticipated rematch for the Welterweight Title, Kamaru Usman defended his belt by once again defeating Colby Covington, this time by unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 49-46). Usman jumped out to an early two round lead and nearly finished a seemingly reserved Covington in the second round. Covington made adjustments towards the end of round three and started pushing the pace. Usman seemed a little more flustered the rest of the fight, but never truly seemed in trouble, leaving no doubt he would continue his reign as king of the welterweight division and quite possibly the pound for pound best fighter in the world. The division’s title now seems at a crossroads considering Usman has defeated Covington, who seems to be the clear #2 fighter in the division, twice. If Leon Edwards is able to defeat Jorge Masvidal next month at UFC 269, he certainly has earned a rematch against Usman. Other than that, the only other fighter who seems to offer a reasonable challenge to Usman is Khamzat Chimaev with his dominant grappling. Usman is on one hell of a run and if not already, he is closing in on a potential claim to be an even better welterweight than former UFC champion Georges St-Pierre.
“Thug” Rose Toughs Out Round 5 for Strawweight Title Defense
The rematch between Strawweight Champion Rose Namajunas and former champion Zhang Weili lasted all five rounds, a far change from Namajunas’ first round head kick knockout in their first battle. Weili used a lot of her powerful hands and physicality to overpower the champion early. The two seemed to trade off getting the better of the other for the first three rounds, but eventually Namajunas would start to pull away in rounds four and five to earn a tight split decision victory. Namajunas now finds herself in a position to next defend the title against Carla Esparza, who won the inaugural Women’s Strawweight Title over the current champion back in 2014. It has been seven years, but considering the improvement of both fighters, a rematch would be an easy fight to sell for the deepest of the UFC Women’s divisions.
Gaethje and Chandler Thrill MSG Crowd in Main Card Opener
A first round for the ages. That’s what fans were able to see when Justin Gaethje and Michael Chandler met in the middle of The Octagon for the Pay Per View opener. The fight seemed like a certainty to end by finish considering the amount of heavy punches thrown and landed within the first couple minutes. Although the pace slowed down in rounds two and three, there was still a constant amount of trading between the two lightweight contenders. Gaethje pulled away by being the more calculated striker and won by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27). It’s hard to say either fighter’s reputation was hurt in a fight that was moved to the opener and ended up living up to all of the hype. Gaethje now finds himself in a position to fight for the Lightweight Title against the winner of the Charles Oliveira/Dustin Poirier fight next month. For Chandler, maybe a fight against a borderline top ten opponent makes sense to get him back on track after losing his last two fights.
Marlon Vera Too Much (And Maybe Too Young) for Edgar
Frankie Edgar has given so much to MMA and the UFC. That is something that cannot be overstated. The former lightweight champion and current bantamweight has had a hell of a run in the UFC that started in 2007. At 40 years old, Edgar walked into his UFC 268 matchup against one of the division’s best prospects in Marlon Vera and found himself on the losing end for the fourth time in five fights. Edgar looked quite strong in the first round with his classic boxing and footwork while still showing the ability to wrestle opponents to the ground. The trouble with Edgar is that he continues to look very good until it doesn’t and “the doesn’t” happened in round three when “Chito” caught Edgar with a front kick right under the chin and caused his body to go limp. Todd Anderson called an end to the fight immediately to Edgar’s dismay. Although Edgar seems to be in the final fights of his career, Marlon Vera may have used this fight as an opportunity to show that he is a legitimate contender at the 135 pound division. With only two losses in three years and likely breaking into the top ten of the UFC Bantamweight division, Vera has shown that he is ready to face some of the strongest fighters at 135 pounds. This fight was the tale of a falling former champion and a rising star.
Burgos Storms Back to Beat Quarantillo
The only issue with the Shane Burgos/Billy Quarantillo fight was that it had to follow the Gaethje/Chandler fight. In an extremely back and forth battle that included multiple moments in the clinch and against the fence, Burgos pulled out the unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28). Quarantillo took the early lead by using a strong, powerful jab to bloody up Burgos nose in what seemed like it could become a ranking earning win for the fighter from New York. Burgos ended up weathering the storm and keeping a tremendous pace which caused Quarantillo to eventually fall behind on the scorecards. It was an important win for both fighters. From Burgos standpoint, it prevents him from losing three fights in a row and keeps him in the featherweight division rankings. It also shows that Quarantillo is well deserving of competing against the ranked fighters of the division.