GDT: UFC 268: Usman vs. Covington 2

[Taytro]

I am lucky enough to have the greatest job in the world where I get to watch sports and get paid (as long as the audio and video is working...). Just got home. After the ride home, I think this is arguably the greatest card of all time. It was a stacked card and every fight was a banger.

Props to Covington for finishing the fight. I hate the character he has become, but he is one of few people capable of going the distance with a GOAT. No more rematches unless Usman runs through the division again, though. Usman already has the best out of three.

I always underestimate Rose, and I'm always happy to be wrong.

I want a Gaethje vs. Chandler rematch as soon as possible after Gaethje fights the winner of Oliveira/Poirier. Would love it to be five rounds, for the title... but Poirier is one of my favorite fighters, and that would mean he lost against Gaethje (or Oliveira). The future is bright in that weight class. Bunch of savages.

Chandler needs to win a fight first imo before he gets someone as high ranked as Gaethje. He's 1-2 in the show and puts on exciting fights but he's getting further down that contender line with every loss.

 

[3074326]

Chandler needs to win a fight first imo before he gets someone as high ranked as Gaethje. He's 1-2 in the show and puts on exciting fights but he's getting further down that contender line with every loss.

Yeah, good call.

Hopefully we get to see him smash a few dudes, in that case.

 

[CDJ]

FOTN went to Gaethje-Chandler

POTN went to Barnett, Green, Pereira, and Vera

hopefully they cut Chris Curtis a little something extra too

 

[darko]

A trilogy after one fighter won both the previous two? No. Maybe down the line when Colby and Zhang get another win or two under their belts but definitely not immediately.

Not immediately.

Usman probably fights Leon next. Maybe Luque. Chimaev down the track. Not sure what's next for Rose tbh.

 

[darko]

Edwards vs Usman is just a waste of time. The dude was almost KO'd by Nate Diaz.

Deserves a title shot more than anyone else in that division.

 

[darko]

I see people comparing Usman with GSP, to me he's about a good 4 to 5 wins away from GSP status, let's hope he doesn't pull a Khabib and actually faces the adversity of a declining athlete.

If Khabib was in UFC right now, no one touches him.

 

[Zegs2sendhelp]

I don't need to see Colby vs. Usman again. I mean, I wasn't too keen on the rematch.

I’d 100% pay for a 3rd match with Colby and usman, but I feel like Colby has to go win a couple fights first and get back to #1…. Not sure anything else in welterweight sounds exciting
…. Edwards is basically only guy left for usman and usman will destroy him. Also not sure if anyone in division can’t beat Colby… but I wouldn’t mind watching Colby fight masvidal/poirer etc

 

[DuklaNation]

Usman leveraged his reach/power advantage while Covington just didn't seize at least 2 key moments to press/follow up on him as he lacks power. Officially, it was an Usman win. Unofficially that fight was a draw but mostly due to the conservative flow of the fight.

Not impressed by Usman's wins as compared to GSP's record. I think GSP takes him down easily if they had fought.

 

[pistolpete11]

Colby started sitting down on his punches a little more in the last couple rounds, but still, questionable strategy if you ask me. Seemed like he was trying to minimize the damage instead of win. Oh well. Not like I was rooting for Colby anyway. Wasn't exactly rooting for anybody I suppose . Another close but clean win for Usman. Edwards is definitely up next with a win over Masvdial. I think Luque would also be a great fight. Usman probably takes him down at will, but Luque's dangerous everywhere. I think Colby-Masvidal is the next fight for each of them regardless.

Not much to say about Rose-Weili. Kind of boring. They were both waiting on the other one to throw and not much was done with the takedowns. Just kind of whatever. The 49-46 card is still absurd, but I think the right person won. Esparza should be next. Weili-Rodriguez would be solid fight to test if Rodriguez is ready. Weili-JJ could headline a Fight Night, although that fight probably ends up a let down after their first one. I don't know if Weili-Yan would want to fight fellow countrywomen. I don't know. She's got to get back on the horse and start piling up some wins.

Another KO loss for Frankie. It's time Frankie. Good win for Chito. I'm not sure where his ceiling is. I don't think we see him ever compete for a title, so probably around this 5-10 range.

@CDJ I hope they throw a little extra to Burgos-Billy Q, too. FOTN on most nights.

Chandler really impressed me. I didn't think he'd be able to survive a war with Gaethje. I thought he'd either KO Gaethje early (which he did have Gaethje wobbled) or he'd eventually break. Savages. Both of them. Everybody knew this was going to be an exciting fight one way or another and it somehow surpassed expectations even without a finish. Gaethje completes half of the equation for the Poirier-Gaethje 2 for the belt wish. Islam-Darisuh in a #1 contender fight makes sense, but Islam-Chandler would be interesting, too.

Prelims were great, too. Overall, a good night of fights. Honestly, though, I was exhausted by the end. I wish they'd save some of these good prelim fights for the Fight Night cards. 6 hours of fights or whatever it was is too much for me and next week's card for example could really use some support behind Max-Yair.

 

[pistolpete11]

Great card all in all. Not sure if it’s just me or not but I find it hard to listen to DC and Rogans biases sometimes

I thought Anik's bias for Rose was showing big time last night. Which is uncharacteristic of him. Anik is the man and I almost never have any criticisms of him, but last night was extremely noticeable for me.

But yeah, Rogan-DC suck together now. When DC first started, Anik-Rogan-DC was the best trio. I think DC got a little too comfortable, Rogan's half checked out, and things got too loose. Last night wasn't even that bad compared to some other nights.

 

[pistolpete11]

Wittman officially the GOAT

At least wraps up coach of the year.

 

[SuperScript29]

If Khabib was in UFC right now, no one touches him.

Styles make fights, that division is so stacked that I'm pretty sure a year from now we will be looking at a brand new set of contenders. Being a goat means always being on top and having a long set of title defenses. Khabib left way too early, he left while he's at the hight of his prime physically, you will notice most of the greats stick around and at least face the adversity of the wear and tear physically and emotionally.

Don't get me wrong, he succeeded in life and decided to walk away with his health intact, I command him for that and would probably do the same, but as a fan this was definitely a missed opportunity because he had goat potential and decided not to capitalize on it.

 

[Avs_19]

I’m a little surprised none of the judges had the second round a 10-8. That could’ve been 48-46 or possibly even 49-45 in the main event.

Still, I guess I have to begrudgingly give Colby some credit because he finally started coming forward and landing some good shots. In the early rounds he was backing up and just looked scared in there. He made it a fight afterwards.

 

[pistolpete11]

Brian Campbell just killed me. Him and Luke going back and forth about how they don’t put Luke Thomas or Ariel’s tweets on the screen and BC goes “they don’t put war machines on the screen either” and Idk if I’m exhausted but I died

"If I'm in Weili's corner I probably told her something in Chinese."

 

[Chaels Arms]

There's an absolutely hilarious clip on Helwani's FB of Ngannou walking right by Gane in a hallway without even acknowledging him and Gane being like wtf just happened hahaha.

 

[I am not exposed]

There's an absolutely hilarious clip on Helwani's FB of Ngannou walking right by Gane in a hallway without even acknowledging him and Gane being like wtf just happened hahaha.

Saw that as well. Gane looked so sad Ngannou didn't say hi!

 

[3074326]

Usman leveraged his reach/power advantage while Covington just didn't seize at least 2 key moments to press/follow up on him as he lacks power. Officially, it was an Usman win. Unofficially that fight was a draw but mostly due to the conservative flow of the fight.

I don't know how that fight could be seen as a draw, personally.

 

[16Skippy]

This card was so stacked, I'm relieved it delivered! The only downside is that a lot of good performances might be over looked as a result.

Speaking of DC and Rogan sucking, did anyone else notice them completely dissing Carla Esparza during the Rose-Weili fight? One of them said something like "If Rose wins there's really no one else in the division", and the other said "Well maybe Marina Rodriguez"

 

[Perennial]

It is kind of your schtick lol I respect the consistency

I've only ever brought it up with a few guys... Usman, Chandler, Ngannou, Costa, and Andrade

 

[Perennial]

I've been saying for years that Cormier isn't good on the mic...

Nice guy? Sure... but I don't find him particularly interesting or entertaining...

Quite frankly, he's a bit of a dweeb... which was the same complaint I had with Goldberg

 

[I am not exposed]

I've been saying for years that Cormier isn't good on the mic...

Nice guy? Sure... but I don't find him particularly interesting or entertaining...

Quite frankly, he's a bit of a dweeb... which was the same complaint I had with Goldberg

He is good on the mic. Just not with Rogan.

 

[Perennial]

What do you guys think about Gilbert Burns being Chimaev's next opponent?

Burns hasn't fought since July, and Chimaev should be ready to fight right away... it's a fight that could be set up for a card in early 2022

UFC 271 in February seems to be lacking star power... Burns vs Chimaev would be a great co-main event

Assuming Edwards beats Masvidal, they could have Edwards fight Usman for the belt in the spring... and then have Chimaev face the winner in the summer assuming he beats Burns

And if Edwards beats Masvidal, it sets things up nicely for Masvidal vs Covington to face each other next

 

[Perennial]

He is good on the mic. Just not with Rogan.

Agree to disagree

 

[Perennial]

If Khabib was in UFC right now, no one touches him.

What makes Khabib's resume more impressive than Usman's?

 

[Perennial]

Not saying he's not on PEDs nor am I saying he's on them either. But I'm not gonna shit on the guy just because he's jacked. So unless he gets caught, there's no point in speculating.

Questioning or believing he's on something is not "shitting on the guy"

Despite clearly being a PED user, the same argument of "unless he gets caught" was used for years to defend Cyborg... so, are you saying we ignore the obvious until the obvious is confirmed?

I couldn't care less about PED use in a sport like baseball or basketball, but in combat sports where the goal is to inflict physical harm to your opponent, I think we need to be especially vigilant in keeping lab-grown fighters out of the octagon