The Nigerian Nightmare’ Kamaru Usman has retained his UFC Welterweight Championship with a 5th round stoppage of American, Colby Covington at the UFC 245 in Las Vegas.
In a thrilling five-round battle, the Nigerian broke his opponent’s jaw to coast home to victory.
Referee Marc Goddard stepped in at 4:10 of the final round – the fifth latest finish in UFC history – as Usman retained his welterweight title in a thrilling slugfest at the T-Mobile Arena.
At the time of the stoppage, one judge had it at 2-2, while one had it 3-1 for Usman, and another 3-1 for Covington, who fell to just his second loss in the promotion.
Usman has now won 14 MMA fights in a row, including 11 straight in the UFC which is the third longest current winning streak in the promotion.
His 11-fight streak is the second longest in welterweight history behind Georges St-Pierre’s 12.
As for Covington, the loss is only the second of his career. The defeat snaps a seven-fight win streak the American was riding into UFC 245.
Before the loss to Usman, the American Top Team product was unblemished outside of a 2015 loss to Warlley Alves.