''UFC 268: Usman vs. Covington 2'' 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 November 6, 2021, at Madison Square Garden in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

, New York, United States.

Background

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 ...

rematch between the current champion

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 ...

(also The Ultimate Fighter: American Top Team vs. Blackzilians welterweight winner) 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 ...

headlined the event. Serving as the event headliner, they previously met at

UFC 245 ''UFC 245: Usman vs. Covington'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on December 14, 2019 at T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area, United States. B ...

in December 2019, where Usman defended his title via fifth-round technical knockout.

Vicente Luque Vicente Luque (born November 27, 1991) is an American and Brazilian professional mixed martial artist. Luque currently competes in the welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of October 3, 2022, he is #9 in the UF ...

served as backup and potential replacement for this fight. At the weigh-ins, Luque weighed in at 172.2 pounds, 2.2 pounds over the welterweight title fight limit making him ineligible to compete for the title. A

UFC Women's Strawweight 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 ...

rematch between current two-time champion Rose Namajunas and former champion Zhang Weili took place as the co-main event. They previously met at

UFC 261 ''UFC 261: Usman vs. Masvidal 2'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on April 24, 2021 at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida, United States. Background The promotio ...

, where Namajunas won the title via first-round knockout. A women’s bantamweight bout between former UFC Women's 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 ...

and

Irene Aldana Irene Robles Aldana (born March 26, 1988) is a Mexican professional mixed martial artist. She currently competes in the Women’s Bantamweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of May 23, 2022, she is #4 in the UFC women ...

was expected to take place at the event. However, de Randamie withdrew in early September due to injury. A middleweight bout between former Strikeforce and UFC Middleweight Champion

Luke Rockhold Luke Skyler Rockhold (born October 17, 1984) is an American retired mixed martial artist. He is best known for his time in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he competed in the Light Heavyweight and Middleweight division. ...

and

Sean Strickland Sean Thomas Strickland (born February 27, 1991) is an American mixed martial artist who currently competes in the middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional competitor since 2008, he is the former King of ...

was expected to take place at the event. However on October 11, Rockhold withdrew due to a

herniated disc Spinal disc herniation is an injury to the cushioning and connective tissue between vertebrae, usually caused by excessive strain or trauma to the spine. It may result in back pain, pain or sensation in different parts of the body, and physical ...

Phil Hawes Phillip Nicholas Fitzgerald Hawes (born January 8, 1989) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Hawes started out as a standout wrestler, winning a national ...

and Chris Curtis were expected to meet in a middleweight bout at UFC Fight Night: Dern vs. Rodriguez a month earlier, but due to Curtis being tapped as a replacement just a day before that event, Hawes declined the matchup. They met at this event. A featherweight contest between Melsik Baghdasaryan and T.J. Laramie was scheduled for the event. However, Laramie was forced to pull out after he was diagnosed with an

MRSA Methicillin-resistant ''Staphylococcus aureus'' (MRSA) is a group of Gram-positive bacteria that are genetically distinct from other strains of ''Staphylococcus aureus''. MRSA is responsible for several difficult-to-treat infections in humans. ...

infection. He was replaced by promotional newcomer Bruno Souza. At the weigh-ins, Souza weighed in at 148.4 pounds, 2.4 pounds over the featherweight non-title fight limit. The bout proceeded at a catchweight and he forfeited 20% of his purse to Baghdasaryan. A light heavyweight fight between Aleksa Camur and John Allan was scheduled for the event. However, Camur pulled out of the bout citing an undisclosed injury and was replaced by

Dustin Jacoby Dustin Jacoby (born April 4, 1988) is an American mixed martial artist and kickboxer who currently competes in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. In kickboxing, he has competed for GLORY, and in MMA, he has competed also for Bellator, World S ...

. At the weigh-ins, CJ Vergara weighed in at 127.4 pounds, 1.4 pounds over the flyweight non-title fight limit. His bout proceeded at a catchweight and he forfeited 20% of his purse to his opponent

Ode' Osbourne Ode’ Omaani Osbourne (born January 9, 1992) is a Jamaican mixed martial artist who competes in the Flyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Growing up in Kingston, Jamaica, Osbourne lived primarily with his grandmoth ...

Results

Bonus awards

The following fighters received $50,000 bonuses. * Fight of the Night: Justin Gaethje vs. Michael Chandler * Performance of the Night: Marlon Vera, Alex Pereira, Bobby Green, and Chris Barnett

References

{{2021 in mixed martial arts Ultimate Fighting Championship events 2021 in mixed martial arts Madison Square Garden Mixed martial arts in New York (state) Sports in Manhattan 2021 in sports in New York (state) 2021 in sports in New York City Sporting events in New York City 2020s in Manhattan

Background

Results

Bonus awards

See also

References