UFC 268 LIVE: Kamaru Usman vs Colby Covington result plus Rose Namajunas and Justin Gaethje reaction tonight

Follow all the fallout from Madison Square Garden

UFC 268: Usman Vs. Covington 2

Kamaru Usman and Colby Covington again contested a classic for the UFC welterweight title on Saturday night, with Usman outpointing his rival to retain the belt against him for a second time.

Two years after Usman stopped Covington in the fifth round of one of the most competitive title fights in UFC history, the Nigerian-American again put the gold on the line against the Floridian this weekend. And in the main event of UFC 268, in a sold-out Madison Square Garden in New York City, Usman again overcome Covington in a thrilling encounter. The fight went to the judges’ scorecards and, although a draw was conceivable – even a narrow Covington victory – Usman was declared the winner via unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 49-46).

In the evening’s co-main event, strawweight Rose Namajunas also retained her title on points, beating Weili Zhang 48-47, 47-48, 49-46 for a split-decision victory. Earlier this year, Namajunas became a two-time strawweight champion by stopping Zhang via first-round head kick, but the Chinese star gave a much better account of herself in New York City, arguably unfortunate not to get the nod on the judges’ scorecards.

Earlier in the night, Justin Gaethje outpointed Michael Chandler, with the main-card opener somehow over-delivering. Gaethje’s meeting with fellow lightweight contender Chandler was expected by many fans to play out as fight of the night, yet somehow the contest was even more competitive and brutal than anticipated. A fine start by Chandler gave way to a second round in which the former Bellator champion was dropped by Gaethje, though Chandler would survive and go on to hurt his fellow American numerous times in a valiant losing effort.

Re-live updates from the UFC 268 prelims and main card, below.

UFC 268

• Kamaru Usman (C) def. Colby Covington via unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 49-46)
• Rose Namajunas (C) def. Weili Zhang via split decision (48-47, 47-48, 49-46)
• Marlon Vera def. Frankie Edgar via third-round KO (front kick, 3:50)
• Shane Burgos def. Billy Quarantillo via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Justin Gaethje def. Michael Chandler via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
• Alex Pereira def. Andreas Michailidis via second-round TKO (jumping knee, 0:18)
• Ian Garry def. Jordan Williams via first-round KO (strikes, 4:59)

[7 November 2021 00:09 · Alex Pattle]

UFC 268

A quick recap of the early prelim results:

Ian Garry def. Jordan Williams via first-round KO (4:59)

Chris Barnett def. Gian Villante via second-round TKO (2:23)

Dustin Jacoby def. John Allan via unanimous decision (29-28 29-28, 30-27)

Melsik Baghdasaryan def. Bruno Souza via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Ode’ Osbourne def. Carlos Vergara via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

[7 November 2021 00:07 · Alex Pattle]

UFC 268

And we’re live!

The UFC 268 prelims are under way. First up is Edmen Shahbazyan vs Nassourdine Imavov.

Shahbazyan (11-2) was undefeated before losing his last two bouts, but he is still seen by many as a great prospect in the middleweight division.

[6 November 2021 23:45 · Alex Pattle]

UFC 268: How to watch, start time and full card

Everything you need to know about tonight’s event can be found in our handy explainer below.

We’ll be providing live updates from the start of the prelims, shortly after 12am GMT.

[6 November 2021 23:25 · Alex Pattle]

UFC 268: More from Michael Bisping

In our exclusive chat with Michael Bisping, the former UFC middleweight champion also spoke about Conor McGregor and how the Irishman is still seen as a role model by many fans despite “attacking innocent people”.

McGregor was involved in an incident with rapper Machine Gun Kelly at the MTV Video Music Awards in September, and last month the former UFC champion was accused of breaking an Italian DJ’s nose in Rome.

But McGregor’s behaviour outside of the Octagon has failed to put off a number of MMA fans, Bisping has told The Independent.

Here’s what the legend had to say:

[6 November 2021 22:50 · Alex Pattle]

UFC 268: Exclusive preview with Michael Bisping

Colby Covington, Weili Zhang and Michael Chandler are the betting underdogs in their respective bouts tonight, and former UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping has spoken to The Independent about each fighter’s chances of winning.

Bisping himself has been an underdog at Madison Square Garden and – like Covington and Zhang this weekend – has rematched opponents with gold on the line, so Britain’s first ever UFC title-holder is well positioned to offer advice...

[6 November 2021 22:06 · Alex Pattle]

UFC 268

Welcome to our live coverage of one of the biggest MMA events of the year: UFC 268, which takes place at Madison Square Garden in New York City tonight.

The main event sees fierce rivals Kamaru Usman and Colby Covington battle for the welterweight title for a second time, following their all-time great contest two years ago. In December 2019, champion Usman finished Covington in the fifth round after the two elite wrestlers put their usual gameplans aside to trade non-stop punches and kicks for the best part of 25 minutes. Ahead of the pair’s second meeting tonight, the co-main event will also be a title-fight rematch, with Weili Zhang looking to regain her strawweight belt from Rose Namajunas, having been finished by the American via first-round head kick in April.

Perhaps the most anticipated fight of the night will in fact kick off the main card, as lightweight contenders Justin Gaethje and Michael Chandler go head-to-head in what is expected to be a brutal encounter. In his last bout, over a year ago, Gaethje challenged for the division’s title but was submitted by then-champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, who subsequently relinquished his belt and retired. With the vacant strap on the line earlier this year, Chandler came up short against Charles Oliveira, but the winner of tonight’s all-American clash might just receive another shot at the gold next.