Kamaru Usman looked like a world-beater in the UFC 235 co-main event, thumping long-time champion Tyron Woodley for five, lopsided rounds, and capturing the UFC welterweight belt as a result.
While Kamaru Usman is now the UFC welterweight champion, his work in the division is far from over. He can now look forward to battles with a host of dangerous contenders — most notably with former interim welterweight champ Colby Covington.
Covington, of course, was in Las Vegas for the UFC 235 festivities, and cage-side for Usman and Woodley’s title fight.
Just as he had been all week, the former interim champion was causing all kinds of chaos from his vantage point in the crowd, heckling both fighters and allegedly having some kind of argument with Woodley’s mother.
Shortly after the fight was ended, a fired up Kamaru Usman approached his rival — and the pair promptly had to be separated. See it above:
“There was a lot of ruckus going on over there in [Covington’s] area,” White said at the UFC 235 post-fight press conference (transcript via MMA Fighting). “He almost got into it with mama Woodley at one point and everything else. That was like the third time I’d gone over to him that night.
“So I just told him, ‘Listen, you’re going to get this title shot. Don’t f*ck this up. Just relax. You and all your guys relax. If anything goes down, let our people handle it, and we’re going to take you in the back in a little while here and do some interviews.’ That’s all I said to him.”
Who do you think will come out on top when the cage door closes on Kamaru Usman and Colby Covington?
This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 3/3/2019.
Former UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski has shut down talks of him fighting Diego Lopes.
Lopes has called out Volkanovski and has expressed interest in fighting him for an interim title or a No. 1 contender. However, Volkanovski says he has no interest as he’s focused on fighting Ilia Topuria for the belt.
Ian Machado Garry can’t wait to lock horns with Shavkat Rakhmonov at UFC 310.
‘The Future’ hasn’t been seen in the octagon since a unanimous decision victory over Michael Page in June. The win was Ian Machado Garry’s biggest of his career thus far and moved him to a stellar 15-0 inside the cage. Following the victory, the Irishman called for a showdown with fellow unbeaten contender, Shavkat Rakhmonov.
Former Olympic wrestler Gable Steveson believes MMA is likely in his future.
The Minnesota wrestler is in a bit of a strange place in his career. After winning gold at the 2020 Summer Games, Gable Steveson instantly became a star. The 24-year-old quickly signed a deal to join the WWE, bypassing offers from the likes of UFC and Bellator. Sadly for Steveson, professional wrestling wasn’t the right fit.
Interim UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall is in discussions for his return.
The British fighter is fresh off his trip to New York City for UFC 309. Back for the first time since knocking out Curtis Blaydes in an interim title defense in July, Tom Aspinall served as the backup fighter for Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic. However, his services weren’t needed. ‘Bones’ ultimately scored a third-round knockout win on Saturday.
UFC light-heavyweight contender Khalil Rountree is reflecting on his war with Alex Pereira.
‘The War Horse’ got one of the most unexpected title shots in October. Riding a five-fight win streak punctuated by a knockout of Anthony Smith last year, Khalil Rountree got a shot at Alex Pereira. For his part, ‘Poatan’ was fresh off a second-round knockout win over Jiri Prochazka at UFC 303 in late June.
UFC commentator Daniel Cormier has responded to Bo Nickal’s recent comments.
‘DC’ was in the broadcast booth for the massive UFC 309 card in New York City over the weekend. On the main card, Bo Nickal returned to the octagon for the first time since a submission win over Cody Brundage in April. There, the former NCAA champion met Paul Craig, in the biggest test of his career thus far.
Former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman will meet Eryk Anders next month.
‘The All-American’ hasn’t been seen in the cage since a controversial April win over Bruno Silva. Despite the Brazilian’s post-fight appeal citing several eyepokes from Chris Weidman, the former UFC champion emerged with a technical decision win. Following the victory, he booked a fight with longtime middleweight Eryk Anders.
UFC legend Glover Teixeira played an amusing prank on Tom Aspinall over the weekend during UFC 309 in New York City.
On Saturday night, Jon Jones defeated Stipe Miocic to successfully defend his UFC heavyweight championship. However, if necessary, interim champion Tom Aspinall was ready to step in on short notice and prove himself against the best of the best. He made weight, he’d done his media obligations, and he was ready to go.
