Usman vs Covington Live: UFC 245 is headlined by Kamaru Usman vs Colby Covington (Image: GETTY)
- Hello, and welcome to Express Sport’s live coverage of UFC 245: Usman vs Covington, which takes place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
- In the main event of the evening, Kamaru Usman will defend his welterweight title against former interim 170lb champion Colby Covington.
- Fan favourite Max Holloway will defend his featherweight title against the in-form Alexander Volkanosvki in the co-main event of the evening.
- Amanda Nunes will defend her women’s bantamweight title against former featherweight champion Germaine de Randamie.
- Keep up to date with all the ongoings from the T-Mobile Arena right here.
Usman vs Covington Live – 02:10 – We move to the bantamweight division
Ketlen Vieira returns to the Octagon following a lengthy layoff, with her last outing taking place last March at UFC 222.
She’ll be welcomed back to action by Mexico’s Irene Aldana, who enters the bout on the back of a decision win over Vanessa Melo.
Usman vs Covington Live – 02:00 – Akhmedov gets the nod
The judges award Akhmedov the victory following two more rounds of dominance, which resulted in a 29-28 score across the board.
That’s three wins on the bounce now for Akhmedov, who really seems to have hit his stride.
Usman vs Covington Live: Omari Akhmedov takes Iain Heinsich for a ride (Image: GETTY)
Usman vs Covington Live – 01:46 – Akhmedov takes the first round
Heinisch has so far had no answer for Akhmedov’s wrestling, which saw him give up multiple takedowns.
Akhmedov, who was last in action at UFC 242 in Abu Dhabi, is also counter striking to perfection – which has made Heinisch tentative to close the distance and trade.
This one is slowly but surely heating up.
Usman vs Covington Live – 01:35 – We move to the middleweight division
Up next is an 185lbs showdown between Iain Heinisch and Omari Akhmedov.
Heinisch, of course, will be looking to bounce back from defeat to middleweight standout Derek Brunson. This should be a good one, folks.
Usman vs Covington Live – 01:24 – Matt Brown stops Ben Saunders
Turns out Saunders’ legs were indeed gassed and he was on the back foot from the moment the second round began.
Brown smelt blood and systematically broke Saunders down before throwing him to the canvas and reigned down a barrage of strikes – including a vicious elbow – which prompted referee Keith Peterson to end proceedings five seconds before the end of the stanza.
Usman vs Covington Live – 01:15 – Round one to Saunders
The first stanza proved to be a ground affair, with Saunders immediately wrapping up ‘The Immortal’ in his guard and attempting multiple submissions.
It’ll be interesting to see how he fares in the following rounds as those sub attempts could’ve burned out his legs.
Usman vs Covington Live: Matt Brown and Ben Saunders trade heavy leather (Image: GETTY)
Usman vs Covington Live – 01:00 – The Fight Pass Prelims are over
We’re now moving into the second half of tonight’s prelims, which will serve up some cracking fights.
Kicking things off is a welterweight clash between veterans Matt Brown and Ben Saunders. I, for one, can’t wait for this one.
Usman vs Covington Live – 00:45 – It’s over
Chase Hooper win his UFC debut via first-round TKO, which came via punches from a mounted triangle.
He didn’t have it all his own way, though, having to battle out of a tight guillotine choke early doors.
A really impressive performance from ‘The Dream’, who I’m very much looking forward to seeing in action again.
Usman vs Covington Live: Chase Hooper celebrates winning his UFC debut (Image: GETTY)
Usman vs Covington Live – 00:41 – We’re on prospect watch
Dana White White Contenders’ Series alumni Chase Hooper is currently in action against Daniel Teymur.
The 8-0 Hooper, of course, is making his UFC debut. A lot of people are really high on the 20-year-old, so I’m looking foward to seeing how he gets on against the experience Teymur.
Usman vs Covington Live – 00:36 – Moreno gets the job done
Talk about turning up the heat. Both Moreno and Kai-Kara did that in that spades in the second and third rounds.
It was Moreno who ended up getting the better of the exchanges, picking apart Kara-France with a lightning-fast jab and his counter striking.
The judges liked what they saw and rightly awarded him a unanimous decision victory, scoring the bout 29-28, 29-28, 30-27 in his favour.
Usman vs Covington Live: Brandon Moreno fires a head kick Kai Kara-France’s way (Image: GETTY)
Usman vs Covington LIVE – 00:20 – The flyweights are on deck
Currently in the cage are flyweights Kai Kara-France and Brandon Moreno, who were roommates in season 24 of the Ultimate Fighter.
The first round was a thrilling and very close one. Let’s see if they turn up the heat in the second and third stanzas.
Usman vs Covington LIVE – 00:10 – What a start to the night
We’re two fights deep into the final pay-per-view card of the year, and boy has it delivered.
Former LFA standout Punahele Soriano kicked off the show with a stunning first-round knockout victory over ex-Cage Warriors middleweight champion Oscar Piechota, whom he stopped with a vicious straight left hand.
And in the first women’s fight of the evening, former flyweight title challenger Jessica Eye got back in the win column with a unanimous decision victory over Viviane Araujo.
Usman vs Covington fight card
Kamaru Usman vs Colby Covington (welterweight title fight)
Max Holloway vs Alexander Volkanvoski (men’s featherweight title fight)
Amanda Nunes vs Germaine de Randmaie (women’s bantamweight bout)
Marlon Moraes vs Jose Aldo (men’s bantamweight bout)
Petr Yan vs Urijah Faber (men’s bantamweight bout)
Usman vs Covington Live: Kamaru Usman defends his welterweight title against Colby Covington (Image: GETTY)
Prelims
Geoff Neal vs Mike Perry (welterweight bout)
Ketlen Vieira vs Irene Aldana (women’s bantamweight bout)
Matt Brown vs Ben Saunders (welterweight bout)
Chase Hooper vs Daniel Teymur (men’s featherweight bout)
Brandon Moreno vs Kai Kara-France (men’s flyweight bout)
Jessica Eye Viviane Araujo (women’s flyweight bout)
Punahele Soriano vs Oskar Piechota (middleweight bout)