Pound-for-pound fighter Kamaru Usman made a fifth defence of his welterweight title by defeating Colby Covington in a very entertaining five round unanimous decision at the Maddison Square Garden Sunday morning.

The fight was a highly anticipated rematch of one of the greatest title fights of all time and it was not without pre-fight shenanigans. Things got personal with Colby bringing up Kamaru’s family and constantly hauling cheating allegations on the Nigerian-born champion throughout the week to set up a backdrop of animosity.

The fight started even on the feet with Colby trying an early takedown which Usman defended confidently.

In the second round, Colby tried a couple of takedowns again and came close but the champion kept his 100 per cent takedown defense record and even got a takedown of his own.

Near the end of the round, Usman dropped Colby with a hard shot but he got up. Usman then unloaded a flurry of combinations and dropped him again. The fight may have been stopped if the bell didn’t sound to end the round.

The next three rounds were very competitive as Colby overcame adversity and started to land shots with success.

In the end, Usman got a unanimous decision victory; 48-47 on two of the judges scorecards and 49-46 on the other.

The win caps a historic 2021 for Kamaru Usman who has now defended his belt three times in nine months and has extended his UFC winning streak to 15 in a row, the longest in the history of the welterweight division.