For several years, Kamaru Usman and Colby Covington shared one of the most bitter rivalries in the UFC.
Their rivalry culminated in two brutal fights inside the Octagon. Usman won both encounters, first defeating Covington by fifth-round TKO in 2019 and then by decision in 2021, but both fights were very close.
Years after his last fight with Covington, Usman revisited the rivalry in a conversation with Josh Thomson and John McCarthy on the Weighing podcast.
In a somewhat surprising turnaround, he praised Covington for being a great rival and admitted there was an addictive quality to the intensity of their fights in the Octagon.
“I know people can’t believe I’m paying tribute to Colby Covington,” he said. “I used to hear people say all the time, ‘You need a good dance partner,’ and he was it.”
“That first fight, there was so much tension that it challenged me to prepare, to train and to go out there and lock myself in the zone, it’s almost addictive – that zone where I’m like, ‘I don’t care what happens.’”
Usman’s decision win over Covington in 2021 marked the last of his five title defenses as UFC welterweight champion. In his next fight, he dropped the title to Leon Edwards, suffering a shocking fifth-round knockout loss. He was then given an immediate rematch with Edwards, but lost to the Briton again, this time by decision.
Kamaru Usman has only fought once since his second loss to Edwards. His last fight came last October, when he accepted a middleweight bout against undefeated Khamzat Chimaev on just days’ notice. He lost the fight by decision, but performed very well despite the circumstances.
Covington, meanwhile, has fought just twice since his last loss to Usman. First, he bounced back with a big decision win over former training partner Jorge Masvidal. Then, he failed in his third title shot, suffering a lopsided decision loss to Edwards last December. He was briefly linked to a fight with undefeated welterweight contender Ian Garry, but the bout never happened.
