UFC 268: Usman vs. Covington 2 Fight Card, TV Info, Predictions and More

Colby Covington will get his second crack at Kamaru Usman for the welterweight championship at UFC 268, which is set to take place Saturday at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

Covington and Usman fought at UFC 245 in December 2019. That bout was a war that saw the fighters combine for 318 significant strikes before Usman scored the finish in the fifth round.

Since then, Usman has defended his title three more times, establishing himself as the best welterweight in the world. Covington once again wants to challenge that notion.

The women's strawweight championship will also be on the line another rematch. Rose Namajunas will try to show that her knockout win over Zhang Weili in April was not a fluke in another good matchup.

The UFC always brings it when it takes a show to New York, and this will be no exception. Here's a look at the card and some predictions for Saturday's biggest fights.

UFC 268 Fight Card, Odds and Schedule—November 6

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Main Card (ESPN+ PPV at 10 p.m. ET)

• Kamaru Usman (c) -320 vs. Colby Covington +250—welterweight championship fight
• Rose Namajunas (c) +100 vs. Weili Zhang -120—women's strawweight championship fight
• Shane Burgos -200 vs. Billy Quarantillo +170
• Marlon Vera -160 vs. Frankie Edgar +140
• Justin Gaethje -210 vs. Michael Chandler +175

Prelims (ESPN News/ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET)

• Alex Pereira -250 vs. Andreas Michailidis +200
• Bobby Green -180 vs. Al Iaquinta +155
• Phil Hawes -310 vs. Chris Curtis +245
• Nassourdine Imavov -125 vs. Edmen Shahbazyan +105
• Ian Garry -400 vs. Jordan Williams +300

Early Prelims (UFC Fight Pass at 6 p.m. ET)

• Chris Barnett +110 vs. Gian Villante -130
• Ode Osbourne -190 vs. CJ Vergara +160
• Dustin Jacoby -380 vs. John Allan +290
• Melsik Baghdasaryan -335 vs. Bruno Souza +260

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook.

Usman's Boxing Shines Against Covington

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Both Kamaru Usman and Colby Covington are exceptional wrestlers as it relates to MMA. But there wasn't too much wrestling going on in their first fight. Neither fighter secured a takedown, as they were both happy to test each other in the striking game.

That advantage lay with Usman. The Nigerian Nightmare was able to knock down Covington twice on his way to securing the fifth-round finish.

Usman is reminiscent of fellow welterweight great Georges St-Pierre in the way he can win a fight in multiple ways. His wrestling is obviously dominant. He utilized it to great effect against Jorge Masvidal twice.

Against wrestlers, his striking is more than enough to carry him through a fight. He showed that once again in knocking out Gilbert Burns in February.

Covington may have improved since their first fight, but Usman is a cut above everyone in the division. His high-pressure style is hard to account for, but the champion should still hold the striking advantage.

Prediction: Usman via fourth-round TKO.

Namajunas Finds Another Opening Against Zhang

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Rose Namajunas vs. Zhang Weili is probably the best matchup that can be made in the women's strawweight division. Outside of a defeat in her MMA debut, Zhang hasn't lost to anyone other than Namajunas.

Thug Rose has shown she is among the best the division has to offer.

The only thing disappointing about the pair's first fight was that we didn't get to see it for long. Namajunas placed the perfect head kick that finished the fight in a little more than a minute.

That's not likely to happen again. Landing that kind of strike that early in the fight is hard to repeat.

But the same dynamics are at play. Zhang is a tremendous pressure fighter. Namajunas is a strong striker with finishing power.

It might not happen as fast, but it still feels inevitable that Namajunas will land the right strike at the right time to put away her opponent again.

Prediction: Namajunas via third-round TKO.

Gaethje Overwhelms Chandler in Key Lightweight Fight

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The people's main event might be the bout set to open the pay-per-view portion of the card: Justin Gaethje vs. Michael Chandler. Not only is it a matchup between two of the most exciting fighters in the lightweight division, but it is also a high-stakes affair.

Both fighters are coming off losses. Gaethje was beaten by retired champion Khabib Nurmagomedov in his most recent bout. Chandler was handed a defeat by current champion Charles Oliveira.

In the deep division, back-to-back losses can put someone way behind the eight-ball in terms of competing for the belt.

Nurmagomedov is able to neutralize pressure better than anyone, yet The Highlight still had some success against him. Chandler has some wrestling skills himself but isn't the dominant force that Nurmagomedov was.

He also has a penchant to get into slugfests, for better or worse. That's a recipe for disaster against a guy such as Gaethje, who lives for those type of fights.

Prediction: Gaethje via third-round TKO.

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