Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream UFC 268 live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app.
“The Nigerian Nightmare” floored Covington twice in Round 2 and then survived a late rally to hold on for a hard-fought unanimous decision triumph in Saturday’s welterweight championship headliner at Madison Square Garden in New York. There now seems to be a level of mutual respect between the two rivals after spending nearly 10 rounds together in the Octagon, but there’s no question that Usman is the better man after those two meetings.
Here is a by-the-numbers look at UFC 268, with statistics courtesy of UFCStats.com.
15: Consecutive triumphs within the Las Vegas-based promotion for Kamaru Usman, the second most in UFC history behind only former middleweight champion Anderson Silva.
6: Victories in title fights for Usman, No. 3 in welterweight history behind Georges St. Pierre (12) and Matt Hughes (nine). After capturing the title against Tyron Woodley, Usman has bested Covington (twice), Jorge Masvidal (twice) and Gilbert Burns in 170-pound championship bouts.
123: Significant strikes landed by Usman. By comparison, Covington landed 107. “The Nigerian Nightmare” outlanded his opponent 17 to 13 in Round 1, 36 to 19 in Round 2, 23 to 21 in Round 3 and 24 to 21 in Round 5. Covington, meanwhile, held a 33-to-23 edge in Round 4.
0: Takedowns landed in 11 attempts for Covington. By stuffing all of his opponent’s attempts, Usman maintains his 100 percent takedown defense rate in UFC competition.
4: Knockdowns landed by Usman in his two victories against Covington. The reigning welterweight champion has scored a total of 10 knockdowns during his UFC tenure.
9: Strawweight victories for Rose Namajunas, tying her with Carla Esparza and Tecia Torres for the second most in the history of the division behind only Joanna Jedrzejczyk (10). Namajunas edged Weili Zhang by split decision in a strawweight title rematch in Saturday’s co-main event.
4-0: Record for Namajunas in rematches. In addition to winning her return date with Zhang, “Thug” Rose also owns rematch wins against Jedrzejczyk, Jessica Andrade and Torres.
6:27: Total control time for Namajunas over the final two rounds, a stretch in which she likely clinched her championship victory thanks to top position and grappling work.
5: Takedowns landed in 11 attempts by Zhang, who landed five takedowns combined in her first six Octagon appearances. Namajunas, meanwhile, went 2-for-2 on takedown attempts and enjoyed 7:00 of control time to Zhang’s 3:37.
86: Significant strikes landed by Namajunas. Zhang wasn’t far behind with 83 significant strikes landed. Zhang held a more pronounced edge in total strikes, outlanding her adversary by a 162-to-130 count.
8: Front kick knockouts in UFC history. Marlon Vera joined the list by using the move to finish Frankie Edgar at the 3:50 mark of Round 3 in their bantamweight tilt.
10: UFC bantamweight triumphs for Vera, which ranks fifth in the history of the division behind T.J. Dillashaw (13), Aljamain Sterling (11), Raphael Assuncao (11) and Urijah Faber (11).
Related » UFC 268 Round-by-Round Scoring
9: Finishes for Vera, the most in UFC history at 135 pounds.
357: Combined significant strikes landed by Shane Burgos (193) and Billy Quarantillo (164), a UFC record for a three-round fight, regardless of weight class. Burgos, who won via unanimous decision, ranks No. 5 all-time for significant strikes landed in a three-round affair with his final tally of 193 significant strikes.
7:51:09: Total Octagon time for Edgar, No. 1 all-time in UFC history. That’s well ahead of the second ranked fighter in this category, Rafael dos Anjos (7:08:11).
116: Significant strikes landed by Justin Gaethje in a unanimous decision triumph against Michael Chandler in a matchup of lightweight contenders. By comparison, Chandler landed 103. Gaethje outlanded his opponent 38 to 24 in Round 2 and 38 to 30 in Round 3, while Chandler held a 49-to-40 edge in the opening stanza.
26: Significant leg strikes landed by Gaethje. Chandler, meanwhile, landed just seven.
28: Significant body strikes for Chandler. Gaethje landed seven significant body strikes.
1: Takedown landed in six attempts by Chandler. Gaethje, who entered the contest with a 69 percent success rate on takedown defense, did not attempt a takedown in the fight.
2: Significant strikes landed by Alex Pereira in the second round of his technical knockout victory against Andreas Michailidis, which ended just 18 seconds into the period after the former Glory Kickoxing champion floored his opponent with a flying knee. Pereira spent the majority of the first round being neutralized by Michailidis, who logged 3:59 of control time in the opening period.
2,922: Days since Bobby Green’s last finish in the Octagon, a body kick TKO of James Krause at UFC Fight Night 31 on Nov. 6, 2013. Eight years later, “King” scored a first-round stoppage of New York native Al Iaquinta at Madison Square Garden. Green’s previous 10 UFC appearances had gone the distance. It was the first time Iaquinta had been knocked out in 22 professional outings.
27: Significant strikes by which Phil Hawes outlanded Chris Curtis before suffering a an improbable knockout loss at the 4:27 mark of Round 1 in their preliminary middleweight clash.
12: KO/TKO finishes from the crucifix position in promotion history after Nassourdine Imavov accomplished the feat in a second-round stoppage of Edmen Shahbazyan in a middleweight contest. Nassourdine battered his advesary with elbows from the crucifix until the bout was halted at the 4:42 mark of Round 2.
21: Significant ground strikes landed by Imavov in the decisive second stanza, when he battered Shahbazyan from the mounted crucifix. Shahbazyan failed to land a significant ground strike in the frame.
12: Wheel kick knockouts in UFC history after Chris Barnett used a spinning wheel kick to floor Gian Villante in the second round of their heavyweight encounter. Barnett put his reeling foe away with follow-up punches on the canvas at the 2:23 mark of Round 2.
17: KO/TKO triumphs among 22 professional wins for Barnett, who also has a spinning back kick body KO to his credit.
6-0-1: Record for Dustin Jacoby since returning to MMA in 2019. The former Glory Kickboxing competitor won four the fourth time in five Octagon appearances at UFC 268, taking a three-round verdict against John Allan at light heavyweight. Previously, “The Hanyak” went 5-5 in MMA bouts from to 2011 to 2015 before taking a four-year hiatus from the sport.
153: Significant strikes landed by Jacoby, a career best in seven UFC bouts. Allan, meanwhile, landed 77 significant strikes in defeat. Jacoby outlanded his opponent 48 to 25 in Round 1, 57 to 25 in Round 2 and 48 to 27 in Round 3. Jacoby was also much more active than his opponent, attempting 321 significant strikes to Allan’s 189.
51: Significant body strikes landed by C.J. Vergara in his Octagon debut against Ode Osbourne. By comparison, Osbourne landed 19. Vergara outlanded his foe by a 93-to-79 count in signifcant strikes overall but lost a unanimous decision to Osboure in a preliminary flyweight bout.