UFC 268 delivered one of the best cards of 2021. The pay-per-view was headlined by the welterweight championship title fight between Kamaru Usman and Colby Covington. It also had one of the most exciting preliminary and early prelims cards in recent memory.
The co-main event saw Rose Namajunas take on Zhang Weili in another title rematch after Namajunas knocked out the Chinese star in their first fight.
UFC 268's main card opened with an exciting match-up between Justin Gaethje and Michael Chandler.
The card also featured a fight between bantamweight prospect Marlon 'Chito' Vera and UFC veteran Frankie Edgar.
UFC 268 full fight card results
UFC 268 early prelims results:
Ian Garry def. Jordan Williams via KO (4:59 of first round)
Chris Barnett def. Gian Villante via TKO (2:23 of first round)
Dustin Jacoby def. John Allan via unanimous decision (29-28 x2, 30-27)
Melsik Baghdasaryan def. Bruno Souza via unanimous decision (29-28 x3)
Ode Osbourne def. Carlos Vergara via unanimous decision (29-28 x3)
UFC 268 prelims results:
Alex Pereira def. Andreas Michailidis via TKO (0:18 of second round)
Bobby Green def. Al Iaquinta via TKO (2:25 of first round)
Chris Curtis def. Phil Hawes via KO (4:27 of first round)
Nassourdine Imavov def. Edmen Shahbazyan via TKO (4:42 of second round)
UFC 268 main card results:
Kamaru Usman def. Colby Covington via unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 49-46)
Rose Namajunas def. Zhang Weili via split decision (48-47, 47-48, 49-46)
Marlon Vera def. Frankie Edgar via KO - (3:50 of third round)
Shane Burgos def. Billy Quarantillo via unanimous decision (29-28 x3)
Justin Gaethje def. Michael Chandler via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-29, 30-27)
UFC 268 highlights
UFC 268 early prelims highlights
The early prelims of UFC 268 promised a show for the fans. With Ian Garry making his UFC debut, the anticipation for the early prelims was higher than usual.
Ian Garry knocked out Jordan Williams in the first round. 'The Future' was also praised for his performance by fellow Irishman Conor McGregor.
The real shocker in the early prelims came in Chris Barnett's heavyweight bout against Gian Villante. Barnett caught Villante off guard and stunned him with a wheel kick to knock him out in the second round.
Dustin Jacoby, who replaced Aleksa Camur on short notice, secured a unanimous decision win against John Allan. Jacoby's output was seemingly too much for Allan who, despite his best efforts, succumbed to Jacoby's pressure.
Melsik Baghdasaryan and Ode Osbourne were also successful in their bouts against Bruno Souza and CJ Vergara, respectively. Both fights were won by unanimous decisions.
Watch CJ Vergara vs. Ode Osbourne highlights below:
UFC 264 prelims highlights
The preliminary card saw a hundred percent finish rate, with four KO/TKO endings.
It started with Nassourdine Imavov fighting middleweight Edmen Shahbazyan. Imavov secured an impressive TKO victory over Shahbazyan in the second round.
MMA veteran Chris Curtis secured the first UFC win of his career. He defeated Phil Hawes via knockout in the first round of their fight.
Former UFC title challenger Al Iaquinta took on Bobby Green in the prelims of the pay-per-view. Green proved to be too much for the New York native as he knocked Iaquinta out in the first round.
The preliminary card headliner was a highly anticipated contest. It featured Alex Pereira, the only fighter to knock out Israel Adesanya.
Pereira, on his UFC debut, strengthened his hype train by knocking out Andreas Michailidis via a flying knee. The finish was deemed a Knockout of the Year contender by fans on social media.
UFC 268 main card highlights
To kickstart UFC 268's pay-per-view, Justin Gaethje and Michael Chandler engaged in an absolute barn burner. The lightweights came in all guns blazing and were both rocked multiple times over the course of the fight.
The first round saw Michael Chandler demonstrate his punching power and explosiveness, stunning the former interim champion multiple times.
Chandler was knocked down in the second round by a huge right hand from Justin Gaethje. 'The Highlight' took control of the fight and decisively won the third round as well. Gaethje was eventually awarded a unanimous decision victory.
Shane Burgos defeated Billy Quarantillo in yet another Fight of the Night contender. Burgos established technical superiority early in the fight, rocking Quarantillo a few times.
'Hurricane' ultimately secured a unanimous decision victory over Quarantillo, owing to his distance control throughout the fight.
Frankie Edgar took on Marlon 'Chito' Vera in a bantamweight bout on the main card. The first round saw Edgar take Vera down and control the Ecuadorian on the ground.
After a similar second round, the third round saw Vera showcase the striking difference between himself and 'The Answer'.
'Chito' dropped Frankie Edgar with a sudden front high kick that landed flush on Edgar's chin.
The co-main event of UFC 268 saw Rose Namajunas defend her strawweight title against Zhang Weili.
After an even striking battle, Zhang landed a takedown in the first round.
Rose Namajunas forced her own ground game on Zhang in the fourth and fifth rounds. 'Thug Rose' also landed big shots on Zhang, but the former champion kept her composure.
Namajunas subsequently got her hand raised via split decision.
The main event of UFC 268 saw the reigning pound-for-pound king Kamaru Usman defend his welterweight strap against Colby Covington one more time. The fight was a five-round war and lived up to the expectations of the fans.
Kamaru Usman knocked Colby Covington down twice in the second round.
Colby Covington came back in the third round and landed significant strikes on 'The Nigerian Nightmare', seemingly rocking the champion.
The two elite welterweights entered the final round of the championship contest even, according to most fans.
Kamaru Usman retained his throne at UFC 268. Judges scored the contest 48-47, 48-47 and 49-46 in his favor.