UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman (19-1-0) stopped Colby Covington (16-2-0) in the fifth round of a classic match at UFC 245 in December 2019:
It looks like they will run it back later this year.
UFC boss Dana White told ESPN's Brett Okamoto (h/t Marc Raimondi) on Monday that Usman will defend his championship versus Covington in the main event of UFC 268 in November. Raimondi notes that the date and location for the card are not yet finalized, but the UFC wants to hold the event at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
Per the official UFC rankings, Usman is the world's No. 2 pound-for-pound fighter behind only Jon Jones, while Covington is rated the top challenger in the welterweight division.
Usman has won 14 consecutive UFC bouts and is a pair of victories away from tying mixed martial arts legend Anderson Silva for the longest winning streak in the promotion's history. The 34-year-old stopped Jorge Masvidal in the second round of their fight at UFC 261 in April.
Covington, meanwhile, bounced back from his loss to Usman by defeating Tyron Woodley in September 2020 but hasn't fought since. The 33-year-old has won eight of his last nine contests.
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