UFC 268: Kamaru Usman and Rose Namajunas defend their titles

The pace wasn’t there at the start for Colby Covington. That’s sort of his thing, to throw and throw and put pressure on his opponent immediately and continuously.

By the end of the fourth round of the welterweight title fight at UFC 268 on Saturday night, however, Covington was back with a higher output. He and Kamaru Usman had plenty of energy left after 20 minutes to meet in the middle of the cage and jaw at each other before going back to their corners ahead of the fifth and final round.

By this time, those derisive chants from the Madison Square Garden crowd had turned into positive "Let’s go Colby" and "Col-by" chants instead. Would a productive fifth round for Covington – yes, he had that – be enough to dethrone welterweight champion Usman in their rematch?

Not this time.

Usman won his fifth consecutive title defense, beating Covington by unanimous decision. The judges scored it 48-47, 48-47, 49-46, in favor of Usman (20-1), who won his 15th straight UFC bout, one shy of Anderson Silva's record 16-0 start.

After all the back-and-forth bashing of each other during the build-up to this fight, both Covington and Usman met in the middle of the cage and shared some kind words and an embrace.

"When you share the octagon with someone this tough, you can’t help it," Usman said. "The respect is going to come."

Covington and Usman both had their turns with the advantage in the striking in the first round. Covington, who started slower than usual but picked up his pace late in the round, developed a small cut on his right cheek toward the end of the first round.

Late in the second round, Usman dropped Covington twice with counter lefts. Covington was able to hold on to Usman’s leg and last the final 10 or so seconds before the bell rang.

In the third and fourth rounds, Covington was able to get through with some shots, connecting on a few that caught Usman’s attention.

Covington landed some good shots on Usman early in the fifth round but his ensuing takedown attempt was stuffed by Usman. Later in the round, Covington connected on a headkick that sent Usman to a knee for a second. He was backing up as the kick landed, perhaps contributing to the fall.

"I had my moments," Covington said. "I wobbled him a couple of times."

UFC 268: Rose Namajunas vs. Zhang Weili

Rose Namajunas’ rematch with Zhang Weili lasted a bit longer than their first bout: 23 minutes and 42 seconds longer, to be exact.

The result, however, remained the same: Namajunas with her hand in the air and a title belt around her waist.

"Thug Rose" captured a split-decision victory over Zhang in the co-main event, grinding through a five-round battle on the feet and the mat to defend her UFC women’s strawweight title. The judges scored it 48-47, 47-48, 49-46

"I was pretty confident that I won. The first couple rounds were a little close," Namajunas said. "I was just present in the moment so I wasn’t too worried about the result."

Namajunas retained the belt she took from Zhang at UFC 261 earlier this year. She won that fight with a massive head-kick knockout early in the first round.

"I had a feeling it was going to be a way tougher fight," Namajunas said. "And she improved a lot so I give her some props, I know what I have to work on now."

After measuring distance for a few minutes, Namajunas began to work her strikes from the center of the cage, only for Zhang to initiate a takedown. Namajunas eventually got to her feet without taking much damage on the ground and returned to trading on the feet. A glancing kick by Namajunas near the end of the round caused Zhang to slip back, but Namajunas couldn’t take advantage before round’s end.

Namajunas again wanted control of the cage to begin the second, goading Zhang into meeting her in the pocket, but Zhang sent Namajunas stumbling into the fence with a big punch at the two-minute mark. The champion held off Zhang with a side kick to the face, only to succumb to a takedown attempt soon after. Zhang landed a few heavy shots from the top before Namajunas arose and soon after scored her own takedown late in the frame.

The pace slowed early in the third, but picked up again with two minutes left after Namajunas briefly got Zhang against the cage for some shoulder strikes. Zhang then scored an important takedown in the final 30 seconds, working to take Namajunas’ back and eventually mounting the champion before the horn sounded.

In the fourth, Zhang looked to maintain her advantage from the previous round. She put Namajunas on the mat, only to be tripped herself and have the fight return to the feet. Zhang again worked to bring the fight down soon after, getting to Namajunas’ back with just under three minutes left to work. Namajunas, however, wiggled free and into Zhang’s guard, where she worked for the rest of the round while dealing with some heavy elbows from the bottom.

With the Garden crowd behind her, Namajunas changed levels and wound up on top of Zhang, but struggled to improve her position, landing a few punches as the fighters rode out the final minutes of an intense rematch.

UFC 268: Frankie Edgar vs. Marlon Vera

In the third and final round, as Marlon Vera and Frankie Edgar battled in a bantamweight bout, Vera snuck in the decisive blow.

He threw a front kick that landed clean under Edgar’s chin, dropping the former lightweight champion to the canvas. Edgar fell forward, and referee Todd Anderson moved in quickly to stop the bout as Vera attempted another strike at the 3:50 mark. Edgar immediately looked at Anderson and yelled, "C’mon."

It was the fourth loss in the last five fights for Edgar since July 2019. That has led to questions about whether Edgar plans on retiring soon.

In the first round, the 40-year-old Edgar looked energetic and effective. He shot in on Vera two minutes into the round, and after a brief scramble, he wound up on top and in Vera’s guard. The fight remained there for the rest of the first round as Edgar worked his ground and pound effectively, and Vera landed good elbows and upkicks from his back.

Vera had the better of the second round, landing a pair of flying knees.

UFC 268: Shane Burgos vs. Billy Quarantillo

In the lone all-Empire State clash of the night at UFC 268, it was the Bronx’s own getting the best of Western New York.

Shane Burgos, born in the Bronx and fighting out of Monroe, defeated Billy Quarantillo in an exciting back-and-forth featherweight matchup, taking local bragging rights in a unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27).

Quarantillo was the aggressor early, looking for a big kick or knee to start the fight. But after a few minutes, Burgos closed the distance and pushed the fight into the cage. They eventually separated, and Quarantillo began working his hands in the center of the cage, bloodying Burgos’ nose.

The second round began with Quarantillo swinging for the fences, throwing multiple power punches within seconds of the start. But Burgos weathered the small storm and held his ground, keeping Quarantillo honest with some jabs and leg kicks of his own, including an ankle strike that continuously tripped up Quarantillo. With the round nearing its end, Burgos turned it on, connecting on a handful of wild strikes to do his most significant damage of the contest.

Both fighters started the third round with little hesitation, slowed only by a short break after a Burgos eye poke. After Burgos successfully warded off a takedown attempt, the striking exchanges continued with Burgos getting the better of them. Quarantillo looked to tire a bit, pushing the fight toward the cage to slow the pace. As the final minute arrived, both fighters looked for a finishing blow, but it never came as fatigue let them down ahead of the final horn.

Burgos’ victory continued his in-state dominance since arriving in the UFC. He’s now 6-0 in New York and 1-3 elsewhere.

UFC 268: Justin Gaethje vs. Michael Chandler

If the first 30 seconds were any indication, then Michael Chandler and Justin Gaethje planned to deliver on exactly what they promised and what MMA fights fans were expecting: a wild fight full of haymakers, bombs and other sorts of thunderous strikes in every direction.

The remaining 14 minutes and 30 seconds solidified that at UFC 268 at Madison Square Garden on Saturday night.

Chandler and Gaethje staged one of the greatest fights you’ll see. No qualifiers needed. Not weight class. Not three-rounder. Not title eliminator. None of that. Just an old-fashioned – and brutal – battle between two of the toughest lightweight MMA fighters.

The judges scored it 29-28, 29-28, 30-27, in favor of Gaethje.

"He is a warrior," Gaethje said. "We are living in the wrong times. Me and him should have been fighting to the death in the Colosseum."

Gaethje dropped Chandler 90 seconds into the second round with a vicious uppercut. He pounded away at the downed Chandler, who was able to grab one of Gaethje’s legs and hold on to prevent referee Mike Beltran from stopping the bout. Gaethje held onto a front headlock with a bit, the only calm part of the entire fight. Chandler was able to get back to his feet with 2:15 left. His face bloodied and swollen, Chandler stood there smiling and engaging and coming forward the rest of the round. Gaethje did the same.

In the third round, Gaethje was landing major strikes to Chandler’s head. Chandler took them, waved Gaethje on and kept walking forward. Chandler picked up Gaethje and slammed him to the ground around the 2:50 mark of the final round, but the fighters soon got back to their feet, because that’s what this fight was meant to be about.

By Mark La Monica

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Mark La Monica is a deputy sports editor at Newsday. He also covers mixed martial arts.