After weeks of negotiations and social media drama, it appears the highly anticipated fight between UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman and former interim titleholder Colby Covington has finally been set. The two will meet in the Octagon on December 14 at UFC 245 in Las Vegas. ESPN first reported the fight with multiple outlets confirming the news since then.
Colby Covington has long waited for a shot at the title. He became the interim welterweight champion in June 2018 after defeating Rafael dos Anjos; however, he was stripped of the title just a few months later when he couldn't face Tyron Woodley in a unification bout due to surgery. Woodley went on to fight and beat Darren Till, setting up a title match against Kamaru Usman earlier this year, which Usman won convincingly.
After a year off, Covington returned to the Octagon in August and defeated Robbie Lawler by unanimous decision. His win essentially sealed a title matchup against Usman, but the two were not able to work out a deal for the longest time.
But that seems to be all in the past now and on December 14 we'll finally get the fight we've been waiting for.
Kamaru Usman vs. Colby Covington will reportedly headline UFC 245 which features two other title fights: Max Holloway vs. Alexander Volkanovski for the UFC featherweight title and Amanda Nunes vs. Germaine de Randamie for the women's bantamweight title.