Free Fight! Usman Dominates Covington In First Title Defense

Kamaru Usman will look to collect his third straight title defense this Saturday night (Feb. 13, 2021) when he takes on his former training partner, Gilbert Burns, in the main event of UFC 258, which is set to go down inside UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Before then, let’s roll back the hands of time to see “The Nigerian Nightmare’s” first-ever title defense. In December of 2019, Usman finally found himself locked in the Octagon against one of his biggest and most bitter rivals, Colby Covington. Over the years, the two men engaged in an all-out back-and-forth war or words in the media, hurling insults at one another any change they got.

Once the action got started, it was crystal clear that all of the talk between the two was real because they wasted no time in getting after it. For nearly five rounds, the duo gave fight fans an epic battle that lived up to the hype, with the majority of the fight taking place on the feet where they each enjoyed success.

Usman was just a bit better, though, because by round three Covington’s face started to show some damage. Still, “Chaos” never panicked and never waivered because he kept coming like the Terminator while trying to find his own offense.

But with 90 seconds remaining in the fight, Usman decided to put his foot on the gas, pushing forward with velocity and unleashing a striking attack that had Covington reeling. During the late exchange, “The Nigerian Nightmare” dropped Covington with a solid right hand. Though “Chaos” was able to bounce back up, Usman dropped him again seconds later, allowing him to pounce on his wounded for to score a late stoppage.

While Covington protested the call, it was the right one to make since his jaw was busted up and he could have suffered even more damage with a minute remaining in the bout and Usman on top of him raining down bombs.

Now, Usman will look to add to his already-impressive combat resume by taking out another streaking contender who is looking to taste UFC gold for the first time.

Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 258 fight card right here, starting with the early ESPN+ “Prelims” matches online, which are scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. ET, then the remaining undercard balance on ESPN/ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET, before the PPV main card start time at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+ PPV.

To check out the latest and greatest UFC 258: “Usman vs. Burns” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here.