''UFC 245: Usman vs. Covington'' was a
mixed martial arts
Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, inc ...
event produced by the
Ultimate Fighting Championship
The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...
that took place on December 14, 2019 at
T-Mobile Arena
T-Mobile Arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Paradise, Nevada. Opened on April 6, 2016, it is the home arena of the Vegas Golden Knights of the National Hockey League (NHL). A joint venture between MGM Resorts International and Anschutz En ...
in
Paradise, Nevada
Paradise is an unincorporated town and census-designated place (CDP) in Clark County, Nevada, United States, adjacent to the city of Las Vegas. It was formed on December 8, 1950. Its population was 191,238 at the 2020 census, making it the fif ...
, part of the
Las Vegas Metropolitan Area
The Las Vegas Valley is a major metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada, and the second largest in the Southwestern United States. The state's largest urban agglomeration, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Statistical Area is ...
, United States.
Background
A
UFC Welterweight Championship
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships.
Historical notes
At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight classe ...
bout between the current champion and
The Ultimate Fighter: American Top Team vs. Blackzilians winner
Kamaru Usman
Kamarudeen Usman (born May 11, 1987) is a Nigerian and American professional mixed martial artist, former freestyle wrestler and retired folkstyle wrestler. He currently competes in the welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Champions ...
and former interim champion
Colby Covington
Colby Ray Covington (born February 22, 1988) is an American professional mixed martial artist who currently competes in the welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is a former Interim UFC Welterweight Champ ...
served as the event headliner.
A
UFC Featherweight Championship
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships.
Historical notes
At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight classe ...
bout between the current champion
Max Holloway
Jerome Max Keli'i Holloway (born December 4, 1991) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Featherweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional since 2010, Holloway became the ...
and
Alexander Volkanovski
Alexander Volkanovski (born 29 September 1988) is an Australian mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Featherweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is the current UFC Featherweight Champion. He is al ...
took place as the co-main event.
A
UFC Women's Bantamweight Championship
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships.
Historical notes
At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight classe ...
bout between the current champion
Amanda Nunes
Amanda Lourenço Nunes (born May 30, 1988) is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist. She competes in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where she is the current UFC Women's Featherweight Champion and two-time UFC Women's Bantamw ...
(also the current
UFC Women's Featherweight Champion) and the inaugural featherweight champion
Germaine de Randamie
Germaine Martha de Randamie (born April 24, 1984) is a Dutch mixed martial artist and former kickboxer. Undefeated in sanctioned kickboxing bouts, she competes in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and was the first UFC Women's Featherwe ...
also took place at the event.
The pairing previously met in November 2013 at
UFC: Fight for the Troops 3, with Nunes winning the encounter via TKO in the first round.
Santiago Ponzinibbio
Santiago Ponzinibbio (born September 26, 1986) is an Argentines, Argentine mixed martial artist competing as a Welterweight (MMA), Welterweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).
Background
He was born in Argentina to parents of Italian ...
was expected to face former welterweight champion
Robbie Lawler
Robert Lawler (born March 20, 1982) is an American professional mixed martial artist who has been competing since 2001. He is the former UFC Welterweight Champion, former EliteXC Middleweight Champion, and has formerly competed in Strikeforc ...
at the event. However, Ponzinibbio pulled out of the fight on October 12 citing a
staph infection
A staphylococcal infection or staph infection is an infection caused by members of the ''Staphylococcus'' genus of bacteria.
These bacteria commonly inhabit the skin and nose where they are innocuous, but may enter the body through cuts or abrasio ...
. Despite having over two months before the event, promotion officials elected to remove Lawler from the card entirely instead of having him face a replacement.
Sergio Pettis
Sergio Jerome Pettis (born August 18, 1993) is an American mixed martial artist who is currently signed with Bellator MMA, where he is the current Bellator Bantamweight Champion. Prior to signing with Bellator, Pettis competed in the Ultimate Fi ...
was briefly linked to a bout with
Kai Kara-France
James Kaiwhare Kara-France (born March 26, 1993) is a New Zealand professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Flyweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of August 1, 2022, he is #3 in the UFC flyweight ...
at the event. However, Pettis revealed in early October that he was entertaining offers from other promotions after the completion of his previous contract and did not currently have a fight lined up with the promotion. Kara-France ultimately faced
Brandon Moreno
Brandon Carrillo Moreno (born December 7, 1993) is a Mexican professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Flyweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is a former UFC Flyweight Champion, and the cu ...
.
At the weigh-ins, former
UFC Women's Flyweight Championship
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships.
Historical notes
At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight class ...
challenger
Jessica Eye
Jessica Jo-Anne Eye (born July 27, 1986) is an American retired mixed martial artist. She competed as a flyweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).
Early life
Jessica Eye was born in Akron, Ohio to Randy Allen and Colleen Joanne Eye. ...
failed to make weight, coming in at 131 pounds, five pounds over the flyweight non-title fight limit of 126 pounds. She was fined 30% of her fight purse, which went to her opponent
Viviane Araújo and the bout proceeded at a catchweight.
Results
Bonus awards
The following fighters received $50,000 bonuses.
*Fight of the Night: Kamaru Usman vs. Colby Covington
*Performance of the Night: Petr Yan and Irene Aldana
Reported payout
The following is the reported payout to the fighters as reported to the
Nevada State Athletic Commission
The Nevada State Athletic Commission (also known as the Nevada Athletic Commission or NSAC) regulates all contests and exhibitions of unarmed combat within the state of Nevada, including licensure and supervision of promoters, boxers, kickboxers, ...
. It does not include sponsor money and also does not include the UFC's traditional "fight night" bonuses. The total disclosed payout for the event was $4,084,000.
* Kamaru Usman: $500,000 (no win bonus) def. Colby Covington: $500,000
* Alexander Volkanovski: $250,000 (no win bonus) def. Max Holloway: $350,000
* Amanda Nunes: $450,000 (includes $100,000 win bonus) def. Germaine de Randamie: $100,000
* Marlon Moraes: $220,000 (includes $110,000 win bonus) def. José Aldo: $400,000
* Petr Yan: $132,000 (includes $66,000 win bonus) def. Urijah Faber: $250,000
* Geoff Neal: $62,000 (includes $31,000 win bonus) def. Mike Perry: $90,000
* Irene Aldana: $80,000 (includes $40,000 win bonus) def. Ketlen Vieira: $33,000
* Omari Akhmedov: $110,000 (includes $55,000 win bonus) def. Ian Heinisch: $25,000
* Matt Brown: $160,000 (includes $80,000 win bonus) def. Ben Saunders: $35,000
* Chase Hooper: $48,000 (includes $24,000 win bonus) def. Daniel Teymur: $18,000
* Brandon Moreno: $62,000 (includes $31,000 win bonus) def. Kai Kara-France: $25,000
* Jessica Eye: $96,000 (includes $48,000 win bonus) def. Viviane Araújo: $45,000
* Puna Soriano: $20,000 (includes $10,000 win bonus) def. Oskar Piechota: $20,000
See also
*
List of UFC events
*
2019 in UFC
The year 2019 was the 27th year in the history of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), a mixed martial arts promotion based in the United States.
Releases and retirements
These fighters have either been released from their UFC contracts, a ...
*
List of current UFC fighters
References
{{2019 in mixed martial arts
Ultimate Fighting Championship events
2019 in mixed martial arts
Mixed martial arts in Las Vegas
T-Mobile Arena
Events in Paradise, Nevada