UFC 268 rundown: Covington remains Usman's toughest challenge

Kamaru Usman retained the welterweight title Saturday, defeating Colby Covington by unanimous decision in the UFC 268 main event in New York.

Rose Namajunas also held on to the strawweight belt with a split-decision win over Zhang Weili while Justin Gaethje beat Michael Chandler in a three-round brawl.

Here are four takeaways from the pay-per-view card:

Covington still Usman's biggest test

The only time Usman had been seriously tested in his UFC career ahead of Saturday's bout was in his first fight with Covington in December 2019.

But many thought the gap between the two had widened over the last two years and believed Usman would leave no doubt in the rematch. Usman had improved his striking while Covington appeared unchanged in his one Octagon appearance since their first fight, setting Usman up to dominate.

That's not what happened.

Covington, once again, tested Usman like no fighter before him. He tagged the champ a few times, briefly dragged him down to the mat, and rallied back in the championship rounds after getting dropped in Round 2 to make it a close fight.

Usman won fair and square. All three judges gave him the nod after 25 minutes. There was no controversy. The 34-year-old is still the best welterweight - and best pound-for-pound fighter - in the world. But it was a very competitive fight, and it was a fight of inches. Covington won two of five rounds on two judges' scorecards (the other had Usman winning 4-1), and he wouldn't have needed much to steal another round.

It was a drastic change from Usman's three wins between his fights with Covington: knockouts of Jorge Masvidal and Gilbert Burns and a lopsided decision over Masvidal. Those fighters, skilled as they are, did not test Usman. Covington did - two years ago, and again Saturday.

That's huge for Covington's future. He's down 0-2 to Usman, so he needs a couple of wins before the UFC considers him for another title shot. But this result kept the 33-year-old in the mix. Had Usman shut him out on the scorecards or scored a first-round knockout, Covington's path to a title shot - against Usman, anyway - would have been barely visible. After he took Usman to the judges, it's definitely there.

Until a Leon Edwards or a Vicente Luque proves otherwise, Covington is the No. 2 fighter at welterweight and the biggest challenge for the division's champion.

You know you're good when ...

Going the distance with you feels like a moral victory for your opponent.

This just demonstrates Usman's dominance and reputation in MMA. Usman out-struck Covington in most rounds and landed the only official takedown of the fight. Yet everyone's talking about Covington.

Was it Usman's best night? Probably not. Certainly not his most impressive performance - it's tough to beat that Masvidal knockout earlier in 2021. But a win is a win. If this - a unanimous decision victory over his rival - is the closest Usman is getting to defeat, "The Nigerian Nightmare" is doing quite alright.

UFC president Dana White said at the postfight press conference he believes Usman has topped Georges St-Pierre as the greatest welterweight of all time. That seems premature, but it's almost time to start having that conversation. St-Pierre had nine consecutive title defenses; Usman is at five. Usman is also one win from tying Anderson Silva's 16-0 UFC start, the longest winning streak in the promotion's history.

If Usman keeps this up, it's absolutely possible he goes down as one of the all-time greats.

Zhang could still be champ

Zhang made some adjustments ahead of her rematch with Namajunas - she moved her training camp to the Fight Ready gym in the United States from her native China - and they showed.

It was a much more competitive fight than the April bout in which Namajunas knocked out Zhang in 78 seconds. Zhang used her wrestling to control Namajunas at times, and she landed some good shots from up close. Namajunas won the split decision after performing well in the championship rounds, but it could have gone either way.

Though Zhang has lost two straight fights to Namajunas, it somehow feels like the best is yet to come for "Magnum."

She's 32 years old, which isn't particularly young for the strawweight division, and she has a lot of fight experience under her belt. But the change in training camps seemed good for Zhang, and it might take her a fight or two to settle into her new home and fully reap the benefits of her new coaches.

At the same time, this result proved why an immediate rematch didn't make sense. There was nothing controversial about Namajunas' knockout win, Zhang wasn't the champion for very long, and Carla Esparza deserved a title shot. Namajunas-Zhang could have been a huge rematch down the road, but now Zhang finds herself in a precarious position following back-to-back losses to the current titleholder.

Still, don't be surprised if Zhang does eventually work her way back to another title shot - whether against Namajunas or someone else - and recaptures the belt. She was ultra-competitive against Namajunas on Saturday, and it feels like she has more to give.

Gaethje-Chandler exceeded expectations

The main-card opener between Gaethje and Chandler had absurdly high expectations.

Gaethje is one of the most exciting fighters in MMA history - that's not up for debate - and Chandler has participated in his fair share of slugfests, too. Fans were expecting chaos, and rightfully so.

But if you had "Gaethje and Chandler go three rounds without one of them getting knocked out" on your bingo card, then well done. Because no one saw that coming.

Gaethje, 32, and Chandler, 35, immediately started winging big punches in the first round, and Gaethje rocked Chandler in the second. Chandler's leg appeared damaged, and his movement was severely hindered by the end of the third round. But he kept coming forward until the final horn.

When the expectations for a fight are as high as those around Gaethje-Chandler, it often ends in disappointment. But not this time. Gaethje and Chandler delivered in a big way. Not only did they meet expectations, they somehow exceeded them. Absolute savages.