UFC 268

UFC 268: Usman vs. Covington 2
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
Total gate	$9,800,000
Buyrate	700,000(US)
Event chronology

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]

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

^ For the UFC Welterweight Championship.
^ For the UFC Women's Strawweight Championship.

^[21]

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