The packed card that was UFC 245 -- the final pay-per-view of the year -- ended with an explosive main event that saw UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman successfully defend his title for the first time against the trash-talking, but tough Colby Covington. The two fighters traded blows for five rounds in what was a dead even fight (according to the judges' cards) before Usman broke it open with a fifth round stoppage.
This was mostly a strikers' delight as neither fighter really attempted any wrestling. Usman appeared to break Covington's jaw sometime in the third round, but the challenger continued to fight through it. The fight was briefly stopped two times; once in the second on a borderline low kick by Covington, and again in the third when Covington appeared to poke Usman's eye after landing a kick. Neither resulted in any significant stoppage and the fighters blasted their way through four rounds.
While Usman appeared to be the one inflicting most of the damage, Covington had answers to each shot. Heading into the fifth, the judges scorecards had it dead even with Usman ahead 39-37 on one card, Covington up 39-37 on another, and one judge seeing it 38-38 heading into the final round. But, ultimately, it wouldn't go to decision.
"The Nigerian Nightmare" dropped Covington twice with right hands in the fifth, and after a barrage of ground strikes, referee Marc Goddard stepped in and called a stop to the fight at 4:10 of the final frame. Usman, who said prior to the fight that he wanted to punish Covington for four rounds before knocking him out, celebrated the fact that he was essentially able to do that. Covington, after running out of the arena following the loss,
took to social media in frustration over the stoppage.
The fact that it was such a close fight heading into the fifth may not have put an end to the Usman-Covington rivalry, but it certainly cemented Usman's place atop the UFC's 170-pound division. With the win, Usman extended his win streak to 15 and moved to 16-1. Covington fell to 15-2.