UFC 268: Usman vs. Covington 2 was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on November 6, 2021, at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York, United States.[3]
| UFC 268: Usman vs. Covington 2 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 The poster for UFC 268: Usman vs. Covington 2 | ||||
| Information | ||||
| Promotion | Ultimate Fighting Championship | |||
| Date | November 6, 2021 | |||
| Venue | Madison Square Garden | |||
| City | New York City, New York, United States | |||
| Attendance | 20,715[1] | |||
| Total gate | $9,800,000[1] | |||
| Buyrate | 700,000(US)[2] | |||
| Event chronology | ||||
| ||||
Background
A UFC Welterweight Championship rematch between the current champion Kamaru Usman (also The Ultimate Fighter: American Top Team vs. Blackzilians welterweight winner) and former interim champion Colby Covington headlined the event.[4] Serving as the event headliner, they previously met at UFC 245 in December 2019, where Usman defended his title via fifth-round technical knockout.[5] Vicente Luque served as backup and potential replacement for this fight.[6] At the weigh-ins, Luque weighed in at 172.2 pounds, 2.2 pounds over the welterweight title fight limit making him ineligible to compete for the title.[7]
A UFC Women's Strawweight Championship rematch between current two-time champion Rose Namajunas and former champion Zhang Weili took place as the co-main event.[8] They previously met at UFC 261, where Namajunas won the title via first-round knockout.[9]
A women’s bantamweight bout between former UFC Women's Featherweight Champion Germaine de Randamie and Irene Aldana was expected to take place at the event.[10] However, de Randamie withdrew in early September due to injury.[11]
A middleweight bout between former Strikeforce and UFC Middleweight Champion Luke Rockhold and Sean Strickland was expected to take place at the event.[12] However on October 11, Rockhold withdrew due to a herniated disc.[13]
Phil Hawes and Chris Curtis were expected to meet in a middleweight bout at UFC Fight Night: Dern vs. Rodriguez a month earlier, but due to Curtis being tapped as a replacement just a day before that event, Hawes declined the matchup.[14] They met at this event.[15]
A featherweight contest between Melsik Baghdasaryan and T.J. Laramie was scheduled for the event.[16] However, Laramie was forced to pull out after he was diagnosed with an MRSA infection.[17] He was replaced by promotional newcomer Bruno Souza.[18] At the weigh-ins, Souza weighed in at 148.4 pounds, 2.4 pounds over the featherweight non-title fight limit. The bout proceeded at a catchweight and he forfeited 20% of his purse to Baghdasaryan.[7]
A light heavyweight fight between Aleksa Camur and John Allan was scheduled for the event.[19] However, Camur pulled out of the bout citing an undisclosed injury and was replaced by Dustin Jacoby.[20]
At the weigh-ins, C.J. Vergara weighed in at 127.4 pounds, 1.4 pounds over the flyweight non-title fight limit. His bout proceeded at a catchweight and he forfeited 20% of his purse to his opponent Ode' Osbourne.[7]
Results
| Main card | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight class | Method | Round | Time | Notes | |||
| Welterweight | Kamaru Usman (c) | def. | Colby Covington | Decision (unanimous) (48–47, 48–47, 49–46) | 5 | 5:00 | [a] |
| Women's Strawweight | Rose Namajunas (c) | def. | Zhang Weili | Decision (split) (47–48, 48–47, 49–46) | 5 | 5:00 | [b] |
| Bantamweight | Marlon Vera | def. | Frankie Edgar | KO (front kick) | 3 | 3:50 | |
| Featherweight | Shane Burgos | def. | Billy Quarantillo | Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Lightweight | Justin Gaethje | def. | Michael Chandler | Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 30–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Preliminary card (ESPNews / ESPN+) | |||||||
| Middleweight | Alex Pereira | def. | Andreas Michailidis | TKO (flying knee and punches) | 2 | 0:18 | |
| Lightweight | Bobby Green | def. | Al Iaquinta | TKO (punches) | 1 | 2:25 | |
| Middleweight | Chris Curtis | def. | Phil Hawes | KO (punches) | 1 | 4:27 | |
| Middleweight | Nassourdine Imavov | def. | Edmen Shahbazyan | TKO (elbows) | 2 | 4:42 | |
| Early preliminary card (ESPN+ / UFC Fight Pass) | |||||||
| Welterweight | Ian Machado Garry | def. | Jordan Williams | KO (punches) | 1 | 4:59 | |
| Heavyweight | Chris Barnett | def. | Gian Villante | TKO (spinning wheel kick and punches) | 2 | 2:23 | |
| Light Heavyweight | Dustin Jacoby | def. | John Allan | Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 30–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Catchweight (148.4 lb) | Melsik Baghdasaryan | def. | Bruno Souza | Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Catchweight (127.4 lb) | Ode' Osbourne | def. | C.J. Vergara | Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
Bonus awards
The following fighters received $50,000 bonuses.[22]
- Fight of the Night: Justin Gaethje vs. Michael Chandler
- Performance of the Night: Marlon Vera, Alex Pereira, Bobby Green, and Chris Barnett
Aftermath
This event won the UFC Honors 2021 Event of the Year award as voted by the fans.[23]
