Kamaru Usman had a big obstacle ahead of him when he faced Colby Covington at UFC 268. It wasn't just his opponent though, he was sporting a big injury.
Kamaru Usman recently went on the Full Send Podcast and surprisingly revealed that he broke his right hand three weeks before the fight. UFC 268 was the first time he threw his right hand.
“I broke it before the fight,” UFC champion Usman said. “Most people didn’t know that. I broke it three weeks before and I didn’t throw it a day until the fight itself.”
“I didn’t throw it until right backstage,” he added. “I didn’t throw my hands for three weeks, my right hand.”
Kamaru Usman broke his hand in training against someone that also competed at UFC 268. Someone known for their crazy toughness and violent fight style.
“I broke it on someone’s head,” Usman said. “Justin Gaethje’s head. We spar together. Same coach, main training partners-slash-big brother, little brother-slash-two assassins in the same place. He gets the better of me sometimes. Justin Gaethje’s a savage.”
Kamaru Usman still managed to drop Colby Covington at UFC 268. The second round almost saw him finish the challenger again.
“I wouldn’t say, ‘pissed.’ I was a little disappointed [that I didn’t get the finish],” UFC champion Usman said. “It’s weird, I was in the back and the whole time I just manifested, I’m like, I’m gonna knock him out. I’m so much better than him now, I’m gonna knock him out. But what I realized too is that I haven’t thrown my right hand in three weeks leading up to this fight. It takes timing. You have to really be clicking to really be able to find that shot, so this is gonna be the first time I’m throwing my right hand in three and a half weeks.
“So I get in the fight and I’m going, ‘Damn, I just can’t find him with that right hand.’ But that’s because my timing wasn’t there, but the left hand I was finding him. He’s tough, he showed how tough he was. He was able to recover very quickly. I made him do the Stanky Leg a couple of times, but he was able to recover quickly and hold on and not get finished.”
The fight went all five rounds and Kamaru Usman remained the UFC welterweight champion winning at least three rounds on all judges' scorecards. The two could potentially have a trilogy with Covington campaigning for a third fight in the future.
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