‘Chaos’ himself, Colby Covington, had to take a break from being his usual loud-mouthed self after going five brutal rounds with UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman.

The Nigerian Nightmare stopped Covington in his tracks just before bell time in one of the sport’s greatest ever battles. UFC 245 remains talked about to this day thanks to the efforts of these two gladiators.

Covington went through hell in his bid to become the new king of the division, even continuing to fight after Usman broke his jaw.

The suffering Covington endured should serve as nightmare material for his former American Top Team ally turned nemesis Jorge Masvidal.

‘Gamebred’ will take on the seemingly invincible Usman for the second time tonight at UFC 261. Last time, Masvidal blamed his unanimous decision loss on being under-prepared for the fight.

Masvidal took the UFC 251 main event on six days’ notice after Gilbert Burns was forced to pull out due to testing positive for COVID-19. 

The knockout artist looks to be in incredible shape ahead of his second crack at snagging Usman’s title.

The BMF champ would do well to learn from the punishment his rival Covington went through in his own battle with Usman. Despite being in exceptional physical condition, Covington was overcome by the ferocity of Usman’s strikes.

While Masvidal is notoriously quick and lethal on the feet (as Ben Askren can attest), it doesn’t take much to become Usman’s latest victim.

Should Masvidal pick up the win tonight, it will be the biggest of his career and the first real title (sorry Nate Diaz) he has held in the promotion.

If not, Colby Covington will be looking to mind his jaw as he becomes a rock solid candidate for next challenger to the Nigerian Nightmare’s gold.

Usman vs Masvidal 2 will headline tonight’s show with support from two more title bouts. Zhang Weili will put her strawweight strap up for grabs in an increasingly personal feud with Rose Namajunas while Valentina Shevchenko defends her flyweight gold against Jessica Andrade.

Taking place at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida, UFC 261 will be the first event since UFC 248 to have a full capacity crowd.