UFC 268 went down last night (Sat., Nov. 6, 2021) from inside Madison Square Garden in New York City in what truly was an action packed night of fights. In the main event of the evening, Kamaru Usman retained his Welterweight title after another dominant performance against Colby Covington (see it again here). In the co-headlining act, Rose Namajunas retained her women’s Strawweight title by edging out Zhang Weili (highlights), while Michael Chandler and Justin Gaethje put on a fight for the ages in the opening bout of the main card.
Biggest Winner: Kamaru Usman
There were so many big winners last night, but the nod has to go to Usman because he once again proved why he is the current pound-for-pound best MMA fighter in the world at the moment. He earned his fifth straight title defense and now has 15 straight wins inside the Octagon, the longest ever in the 170-pound weight class. He is also just one more win away from tying Anderson Silva’s record of most consecutive wins inside the Octagon without a loss at 16 straight. In defeating Covington a second time, he is now starting to lap the competition — he already defeated Jorge Masvidal twice. “The Nigerian Nightmare” just separates himself further with every win and is just four more title defenses away from reaching “GSP’s” record.
Runner Up: Justin Gaethje
Gaethje proved why he is perhaps the most entertaining fighter in MMA today, putting on one hell of a performance against Michael Chandler, which might have earned him another crack at UFC gold. Thankfully “Highlight” had the perfect dance partner that was willing to stay in the pocket and go toe-to-toe with him — a dangerous game to play — in Chandler. In the end, Gaethje ultimately proved why trading punches with him usually doesn’t end well for anyone other than himself. Islam Makhachev made a great case for a shot at the title at UFC 267, but it’s going to be hard to not take Gaethje into consideration after this performance.
Biggest Loser: Frankie Edgar
Despite a valiant effort against Marlon Vera, Edgar couldn’t get the win in “The Big Apple” after he was knocked out by a perfectly-timed kick to the face from “Chito.” That is now two straight knockout losses for “The Answer” after he was previously stopped by Cory Sandhagen via flying knee earlier this year. Going back a bit further, Edgar’s last three losses have come by way of stoppage via strikes. The former Lightweight champion has now lost four of his last five fights and is just 2-5 since 2018. It’s hard to say where he goes from here, but it wont be retirement according to his pre-fight comments. Then again, there is no telling where his mind will be after his latest crushing defeat.
For complete UFC 268 results and coverage click here.