When all was said and done, Kamaru
Usman was able to bury the hatchet with Colby
Covington following their rematch at
UFC 268.
The two men shared a moment of respect following Saturday’s
headliner at Madison Square Garden in New York, where Usman
retained his title with a unanimous decision victory — his second
triumph against Covington in a little less than two year’s time.
Both fights against “Chaos” were hard-fought, which Usman
acknowledged while making a lofty comparison regarding their
rivalry at Saturday’s post-fight press conference.
“As a competitor I respect him – that’s the next best guy in the
division. “This guy’s tough as nails. He’s very, very tough,” Usman
said. “Let’s be honest: [Muhammad] Ali needed a [Joe] Frazier. All
these guys. You can be the great one, but there’s always going to
be the one guy that can push you. He is that guy. As much of him
outside the Octagon as most people don’t like, myself included, you
have to respect him as a competitor.”
Given the hostilities between the two leading up to the rematch, it
didn’t seem likely that the two welterweights would be able to put
their differences aside, but once their fight concluded — so did
the animosity. “I’m not surprised. We’ve shared pretty much an hour
inside that cage,” Usman said. “I don’t care who you you are,
there’s a mutual respect that just comes alive. It’s the spirit of
competition; that’s the spirit of martial arts.”
Usman is currently on a 15-bout winning streak in UFC competition,
a run that has him perched atop more than a few pound-for-pound
polls. Though there’s a few potential interesting challenges on the
horizon, “The Nigerian Nightmare” wouldn’t rule out a trilogy with
Covington under the right set of circumstances.
“I don’t know [if there will be a trilogy],” Usman said. “That
guy’s tough. I think he’ll tune up a lot of guys in the division so
it’s up to him. If he’s willing to do the work and get back up
here, and I’m still here, we’ll make it happen.”