UFC 245: 3 reasons why Kamaru Usman defeated Colby Covington

UFC 245 is over, and Kamaru Usman remains the UFC World Welterweight champion after a fifth round TKO victory over bitter rival – and former interim champion – Colby Covington.

‘Chaos’ talked an unprecedented amount of trash coming into the fight, hitting out at Usman’s nationality, his family and his team, but in the end it didn’t matter, as ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ was the one who had his hand raised.

In a somewhat surprising fight to watch, despite being tremendous wrestlers, both men went toe-to-toe in a striking battle throughout all five rounds, and things came to an end in the fifth and final round when Usman dropped Covington with two right hands and then finished him off.

Here are 3 reasons why Kamaru Usman defeated Colby Covington.

#1 Covington’s pace couldn’t wilt Usman

Covington's pace overwhelmed Robbie Lawler, but didn't work against Usman

Covington has been around in the UFC since 2014, but it was in 2017 where he really rose to prominence with a pair of wins over top-ranked contenders Dong Hyun Kim and Demian Maia. Those two wins – and Covington’s subsequent ones over Rafael Dos Anjos and Robbie Lawler – were built on one foundation: pace and pressure.

One of the best conditioned athletes in MMA, ‘Chaos’ was simply able to push a pace that his opponents couldn’t keep up with. Covington’s striking was never the most technical in the division, but his cardio gave him the ability to simply wade forward and keep on throwing shots, and that – coupled with his takedown threat – meant that he was able to make his opponents wilt.

Last night though, Covington was faced with a man as conditioned as him in Usman. ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ was unbeaten in the UFC going into last night with 10 straight wins, and every one of those wins had seen him put incredible pressure on his opponent and never get tired doing so.

Neither Covington nor Usman was able to make the other wilt with their pace last night, but the difference was that Usman had more skills outside of that pressure game, and put them to better use.

#2 Without the threat of the takedown, Covington’s striking was exposed

Usman's striking proved to be technically superior to Covington's

Despite his considerable skill and undeniable rise up the Welterweight ranks in the UFC, no serious MMA fan would try to describe Colby Covington as a world-class striker, not like some of the other 170lbers out there like Jorge Masvidal or Stephen Thompson.

Despite that, ‘Chaos’ had been able to outstrike dangerous kickboxers like Robbie Lawler and Rafael Dos Anjos. But why?

Well, outside of the tremendous cardio and pace mentioned earlier, Covington had another massive weapon in his arsenal – his incredible wrestling. One of the best takedown artists in the 170lbs division, ‘Chaos’ was able to easily outwrestle the likes of Demian Maia and Dong Hyun Kim, and so when he came up against lesser grapplers like Lawler, the threat of his takedown forced them to fight more defensively – in turn opening them up to being hit by Covington.

Against Usman though, that threat didn’t exist. ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ – a tremendous wrestler in his own right and perhaps even better than Covington – had never been taken down in his UFC career, not even by another great wrestler in Tyron Woodley. Realistically, Covington was never going to simply double-leg him to the ground.

That meant that Usman was able to simply combat ‘Chaos’ on the feet, and when it came down to a kickboxing battle, the Nigerian was the superior striker. He chained his combinations together more smoothly, used his jab to better effect, hit Covington to the body with uppercuts and front kicks, and did far more damage.

Covington remains an excellent fighter due to his all-round skills, but if he ever wants to be at the top of the mountain, his striking needs to improve from a technical standpoint.

#3 Usman’s chin was made of granite

Usman's chin absorbed the best shots that Covington was able to throw

Prior to last night’s fight, Kamaru Usman had beaten ten straight opponents inside the UFC’s Octagon, and truthfully, none of them had really pushed him that hard. Lower-level foes like Hayder Hassan and Sean Strickland were simply steamrolled, while tougher opponents like Demian Maia, Rafael Dos Anjos and Tyron Woodley simply couldn’t stop his pressure game.

That meant that we had one big question about ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’: how good was his chin? Well, judging by last night’s fight, it turns out it’s pretty solid. Usman went toe-to-toe with Colby Covington for five straight rounds, and while he largely outstruck ‘Chaos’, he also took plenty of big strikes too.

The second round saw him stunned momentarily by a right hook, and a couple of combinations landed by Covington in the fourth appeared to hurt him too – but all the while, Usman stood strong in the firing line. He never shot for a desperation takedown, his legs never buckled, and Covington never came close to putting him away.

Admittedly, Covington isn’t the concussive puncher that say, Santiago Ponzinibbio or Jorge Masvidal is, but then those fighters would struggle more than ‘Chaos’ against Usman’s wrestling game.

After last night there are zero questions around ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’, and judging by the evidence, we could be looking at the most dominant Welterweight since the great Georges St. Pierre.