NEW YORK — One of the most anticipated title rematches in UFC history is official, as Kamaru Usman and Colby Covington both weighed in successfully Friday morning.
Usman, who was first to the scale, weighed in at 169 pounds, and Covington was 169.4 pounds. Usman will defend his UFC welterweight title against Covington at UFC 268 on Saturday at Madison Square Garden.
ESPN has Usman ranked as its No. 1 pound-for-pound MMA fighter. At welterweight, Usman is ranked No. 1 and Covington is No. 3. Usman beat Covington via fifth-round TKO to retain his title at UFC 245 in December 2019 in a bout considered one of the most action-packed UFC title fights ever.
Usman (19-1) is riding a 14-fight winning streak, the second-longest streak in UFC history. The 34-year-old, who is from Nigeria and fights out of Colorado, is coming off a second-round knockout of Jorge Masvidal at UFC 261 in April. Usman has made four title defenses and is already considered among the best welterweight fighters in MMA history.
Covington (16-2) has won eight of his past nine fights, with his only loss during that stretch coming to Usman. The 33-year-old, who is from California and fights out of Florida, most recently defeated former champion Tyron Woodley by fifth-round TKO in September 2020. Covington is the former interim UFC welterweight champion.
Both co-main event competitors also made weight Friday. Rose Namajunas (115 pounds) will defend her UFC women’s strawweight title against former champ Zhang Weili (115 pounds). Namajunas (10-4), who is from Milwaukee and fights out of Colorado, stopped Zhang via first-round knockout at UFC 261 and is a two-time champion. Zhang (21-2), who was UFC’s first Chinese-born champion, had a 21-fight winning streak snapped with the loss to Namajunas.
Also on the card, former interim champion Justin Gaethje faces former three-time Bellator champion Michael Chandler in what is being billed as a UFC lightweight title eliminator. Gaethje weighed in at 155.6 pounds, and Chandler was 155.2.