UFC 268 Preview

Ladies and Gentleman we are in for a epic night on November 6. UFC 268 will be taking place at Madison Square Garden, the Mecca of Sports Entertainment. The card is fully stacked from top to bottom. The main card features two title fights, as Kamaru "The Nigerian Nightmare" Usman (19-1) defends his Welterweight Championship in a rematch against Colby "Chaos" Convington (16-2) and "Thug" Rose Namajunas (11-4) defends her Strawweight Championship in a rematch against Zhang Weili (21-2), followed by a #1 contender fight at Lightweight between Justin Gaethje (22-3) and Michael Chandler (22-6). Before we witness this iconic card on November 6, I wanted to share my thoughts and predictions on each fight.

Kamaru Usman vs Colby Covington

One of the UFC's most heated rivalries will be reignited November 6 at Madison Square Garden when Kamaru Usman and Colby Covington fight in the octagon for the 2nd time. The build up to the first fight was epic and the fight definitely lived up to the hype. Colby Covington, love him or hate him, gave Kamaru his toughest test to date. Both men pushed each other to the brink of defeat, battering each other over 4 rounds until Usman ultimately ended the fight in the 5th round by TKO. There's some people out there that agrees that Colby was arguably winning the fight up until Usman landed that viscous right hand to retain his belt. The fight did end without controversy though, as Colby continuously confronted long time MMA referee Marc Goddard during interviews after the fight, arguing that Goddard stopped the fight early. Since then, Kamaru Usman has gone on to defend his belt 3 more times, as he went on to defeat Gilbert Burns and Jorge Masvidal (twice), while Colby Covington has only fought one time defeating Tyron Woodley. Colby has campaigned for a title shot and the UFC has granted him his wish. I expect the build up to the rematch to be just as heated as the first one and I expect the actual fight to be fireworks as well. We are in for one hell of a fight ladies and gentleman, I can't wait. Will Kamaru put an end to the rivalry or will Colby force a trilogy? We shall find out November 6.

Prediction: Kamaru Usman via Decision

Rose Namajunas vs Zhang Weili

When it comes to rematches, there is none more anticipated than "Thug" Rose Namajunas vs Zhang Weili. Rose Namajunas is looking to truly claim her throne as the best Strawweight in the world once again, while Zhang Weili is looking to regain her title back from the woman who took it from her in brutal fashion a few months ago in April. The first fight resulted in Namajunas finishing Weili in Round 1, which not onlywon Namajunas the gold, but she also became the first woman in UFC history to reclaim a title. On the other hand, Zhang came into the fight with a 21-fight win streak and the pressure of being China's newest global superstar. As previously mentioned, "Thug" Rose landed a beautiful switch left high kick that dropped Weili, causing referee Keith Peterson to stop the fight. Rose jumped around the octagon in tears, as Weili was seen arguing with the referee about an early stoppage. If you were watching the fight, you would've been able to see that the fight was appropriately stopped. The first fight was the true definition of thrill and agony. For some reason, the rematch reminds me of when "Thug" Rose fought Joanna Jedrzejczyk for the second time. In the first fight between the two, Rose knocked out Joanna with a left hook to win the title, only for Joanna to call the win a fluke. The UFC granted Joanna a rematch, which resulted in Rose winning the second fight by decision. I feel that Weili is in the same predicament that Joanna was in, due to the fact that she also believes Namajunas' victory was a fluke. Make no mistake about it, Zhang Weili will be as focused as she's ever been and on her A-game. Will Rose prove that her win wasn't a fluke and she's truly the best in the world or will Weili prove that Rose's win was a fluke and force the trilogy? I can't wait to find out, it's going to be one hell of a fight!

Prediction: Rose Namjunas via Decision

Justin Gaethje vs Michael Chandler

Justin Gaethje vs Michael Chandler is pretty much a lock to be a fight of the year candidate. Both guys are fan favorites that love to knockout their opponents and both are coming off of losses, so expect them to be getting after it as soon as the bell rings. Justin Gaethje last fought Khabib Nurmagamedov, which saw Justin Gaethje lose by triangle choke. Michael Chandler last fought Charles Oliveria, which was for the vacant Lighweight Championship. As we all know, Khabib Nurmagamedov retired after defeating Justin Gaethje at UFC 254 last October, resulting in the Lightweight Championship being vacated. The UFC then set up Charles Oliveira vs Michael Chandler for the Lightweight belt. The fight was back and forth until Oliveira caught Chandler with a left hook to end the fight. Now with Oliveira and Poirier fighting for the belt in December, Gaethje and Chandler will fight to determine who will be the #1 contender. Both Gaethje and Chandler have mentioned on numerous occasions that they will be trying to end the fight in violent fashion. During an interview with The Schmo, Gaethje stated that, "He (Chandler) loves fighting just as much as me. Styles makes matchups and this is a stylistic matchup for the fans. Someone's gonna get knocked out." As you can see, Gaethje will be coming in guns blazing from beginning to end. Michael Chandler is not an easy opponent by any means, his resume speaks for itself. He spent majority of his career fighting in Bellator as their former 2-time Lightweight Champion, which is why he is in the spot he's in now. Although he lost his title opportunity against Oliveira, he will be coming into the fight as prepared as ever. In an interview with Brett Okamoto, Chandler admitted that, "I will say I think Justin Gaethje is the scariest guy that I've ever fought. He's the craziest guy I've ever fought. I've fought soem tough guys in the past, but he takes the cake." We can see that both guys respect the hell out of one another, but make no mistake about it, they will be trying to violently put each other away. This fight will be one to remember, November 6 can't come fast enough.

Prediction: Justin Gaethje via 3rd-Round Knockout