UFC 245: Usman vs Covington - Odds and Predictions

Where: T-Mobile Arena – Paradise, NV.

When: Saturday, December 14, 10 PM EST

How: UFC Fight Pass, pay-per-view, ESPN+ → Watch on ESPN+ here!

(C) Kamaru Usman vs Colby Covington – Welterweight Division

UFC 245: Usman vs. Covington is an upcoming mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that is planned to take place on December 14, 2019#Usman vs #Covington#UsmanCovington#CovingtonUsman#UFC245 #UFC #MMA pic.twitter.com/IMhahC6FSI

— MMA-UFC 245 Usman vs Covington live Streams Reddit (@UsmanCovington) December 4, 2019

Kamaru Usman (15-1)

Height: 6 ft.

Reach: 76 in.

Age: 32

Undefeated in the UFC, Kamaru Usman climbed his way up the welterweight rankings grinding out win after win over top-opponents.

His path to the title included wins over Rafael dos Anjos and Demian Maia.

The win over dos Anjos included a performance of the night bonus. He went on to face the champion at the time, Tyron Woodley, at UFC 235 on March 2.

He beat Woodley via unanimous decision. Usman hasn’t fought since winning the title as he took time off to heal from accumulative injuries.

Born in Nigeria and now an American citizen, Usman trains out of Fort Lauderdale, Florida with Hard Knocks 365.

Known mostly for his NCAA division II wrestling credentials, Usman also has a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu under Jorge Santiago. He has been active in mixed martial arts since 2012.

Colby Covington (15-1)

Height: 5 ft. 11 in.

Reach: 72 in.

Age: 31

Colby Covington has been very vocal about his opinions on his way to this UFC title fight and he hasn’t gained many fans in doing so.

Nonetheless, no one can deny his skill, as he boasts an equal record as the current champ, wins over the same opponents, and NCAA Division I credentials.

Like Usman, Covington won back-to-back fights against Demian Maia and Rafael dos Anjos.

The dos Anjos fight was for an interim welterweight title, which Covington won but was later stripped of due to injury. His last fight came on August 3 against Robbie Lawler at a UFC Fight Night event. Covington dominated the fight and easily won a unanimous decision.

Covington has been training in Florida with the American Top Team gym.

However, after some public friction with teammates, it is uncertain if he spent his fight camp for this fight with that gym.

Convington’s wrestling could outmatch Usman’s but the biggest concern will be his four-inch reach disadvantage.

Like Usman, Covington has been active in MMA since 2012 and is ranked as the second-best welterweight in the UFC after Tyron Woodley and, of course, Usman.

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Max Holloway (21-4)

Height: 5 ft. 11 in.

Reach: 69 in.

Age: 27

Featherweight champion Max Holloway will defend his 145lbs. title once again after making a successful return to his weight class.

After a 13-fight winning streak in the UFC that included three title defenses, Holloway moved up the lightweight division to take on Dustin Poirier for the interim lightweight title at UFC 236. Holloway was unsuccessful in his attempt, losing a unanimous decision to Poirier. Holloway returned to defend his featherweight title at UFC 240 against UFC veteran Frankie Edgar on July 27. He defeated Edgar via unanimous decision.

The Hawaiian- born fighter trains out of his home state with the Gracie Technics academy. He trains his wrestling with coach Michael Nakagawa and he has a purple belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu under Rylan Lizares and Pedro Sauer. He has fought professionally since 2010 and is currently viewed as the number-seven best pound-for-pound fighter in the world.

Alex Volkanovski (20-1)

Height: 5 ft. 6 in.

Reach: 71.5 in.

Age: 31

Alex Volkanovski has been on a tear since joining the UFC, winning all seven of his fights under the banner.

His UFC 232 bout against Chad Mendes was awarded Fight of the Night. Following that fight, Volkanovski took on former featherweight champion and UFC legend Jose Aldo at UFC 237 on May 11. Volkanovski impressively defeated Jose Aldo via unanimous decision in Aldo’s home country of Brazil.

Volkanovski hasn’t been able to fight since, however, as he picked up a nasty leg infection when in the country.

The Australian-born fighter heads into this bout with a big height disadvantage against Holloway but he brings in a 2.5-inch reach advantage.

He trains out of his home country with the Freestyle Fighting Gym.

Like his opponent, Volkanovski has a purple belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu – his under trainer Joe Lopez. Volkanovski has been fighting since 2012 and is ranked as the number one featherweight in the UFC behind only the champion.

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(C) Amanda Nunes vs Germaine de Randamie – Women’s Bantamweight Division

Amanda Nunes (18-4)

Height: 5 ft. 8 in.

Reach: 69 in.

Age: 31

Arguably the greatest female fighter of all-time, double weight-class champion Amanda Nunes defends her bantamweight title for the fifth time in this bout against de Randamie. Nunes won the bantamweight title from Meisha Tate in 2016 and has defended it against challengers such as former champ Ronda Rousey and current flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko.

She then won the women’s featherweight title from phenom Cris Cyborg. Nunes last fought at UFC 239 where she took on another former champion in Holly Holm. She defeated Holm via TKO in the first round of their fight and she was awarded a performance of the night bonus.

”The Lioness” fights out of her home country of Brazil and trains with the gyms AMA Fight Club and American Top Team states-side. She is a southpaw fighter with a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and a brown belt in judo. She has been fighting since 2008 and is currently ranked as the fifth-best pound-for-pound fighter in the world.

Germaine de Randamie (9-3)

Height: 5 ft. 9 in.

Reach: 71 in.

Age: 35

The inaugural UFC women’s featherweight champion Germaine de Randamie is coming off, arguably, the biggest win of her career. De Randamie has won her last five fights in a row.

She defeated Holly Holm to win the first featherweight title but was then stripped due to her unwillingness to fight Cris Cyborg.

She returned to the bantamweight division and beat Raquel Pennington by decision. In her last fight, de Randamie took on the undefeated prospect Aspen Ladd and beat her via TKO just 16 seconds into their fight. Her last loss came in 2013 against Amanda Nunes.

The Dutch kickboxer has been training in mixed martial arts since 2008. She fights out of the Netherlands and trains with the CSA Holland team. The “Iron Lady” had an undefeated 46-0 kickboxing record before making the transition to MMA. She as ranked as the number-one women’s bantamweight in the UFC behind only the champion.

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Marlon Moraes vs Jose Aldo – Bantamweight Division

Marlon Moraes (22-6-1)

Height: 5 ft. 6 in.

Reach: 67 in.

Age: 31

A win against UFC legend Jose Aldo is just what Marlon Moraes needs to get himself back into title contention.

After winning four fights in a row, which included wins over notable opponents such as Aljamain Sterling and Raphael Assuncao, Moraes was given a title shot against flyweight champion Henry Cejudo for the vacant bantamweight title following T.J. Dillashaw’s suspension.

Cejudo defeated Moraes at UFC 238 on June 8 via third-round TKO.

A former World Series of Fighting champion, Moraes has been fighting since 2007.

The Brazilian fighter trains out of New Jersey at Ricardo Almeida BJJ. He has a black belt in both muay thai and Brazilian jiu-jitsu under coach Almeida.

He currently ranks just under the champion at number-one in the UFC bantamweight rankings.

Jose Aldo (28-5)

Height: 5 ft. 7 in.

Reach: 70 in.

Age: 33

The “King of Rio” returns to action and, like Marlon Moraes, has a lot to gain from a victory Saturday night.

The fight against Moraes will be his first at bantamweight. Aldo was the UFC’s first featherweight champion until he lost the title to Connor McGregor in 2015. Since then, Aldo has had ups and downs, going 3-3 since losing the title, including back-to-back losses to champion Max Holloway.

His last fight came at UFC 237 on May 11 against the now title contender Alex Volkanovski. As mentioned earlier, Volknaovski won the fight against Aldo via unanimous decision.

The future hall-of-famer has been fighting since 2004.

He was named the UFC’s first featherweight champion after the company absorbed the WEC.

He will have a three-inch reach and one-inch height advantage in this fight. He fights out of his home country of Brazil and trains with Nova Uniao.

Also has a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu under Andre Pederneirnas and a black belt in luta livre under Marco Ruas.

Heading into this bout he sits ranked as the third-best featherweight in the UFC. He is also considered by many to be the greatest featherweight fighter of all time.

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Petr Yan (13-1)

Height: 5 ft. 7.5 in.

Reach: 67 in.

Age: 26

Undefeated since joining the UFC, Petr Yan has won five in a row for the organization. His last bout came on June 8 at UFC 238 where he took on bantamweight contender Jimmie Rivera.

Yan dominated Rivera on his way to a unanimous decision victory. It was the first fight on his new six-fight contract. Yan hasn’t fought since due to a necessary synovitis surgery he had in his elbow.

”No Mercy” is a ruthless, Russian-born fighter that trains out of his home country with Tiger Muay Thai.

He has a Master of Sport in both boxing and mixed martial arts. He also has a blue belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. Active in MMA since 2014, Yan is currently ranked as the fourth-best UFC bantamweight.

Uriah Faber (35-10)

Height: 5 ft. 6 in.

Reach: 67 in.

Age: 40

After years of unsuccessfully capturing the UFC bantamweight title, Uriah Faber retired in 2016.

He retired after defeating Brad Pickett by unanimous decision. After years away training and coaching other fighters, the former WEC featherweight champion returned to UFC action on July 13 at a UFC Fight Night event.

Faber took on Ricky Simon and won the fight by first-round TKO.

The American fighter has been fighting professionally since 2003. He trains in Sacramento at his Team Alpha Male gym.

Faber has a brown belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu under Fabio Prado and also boasts NCAA Division I wrestling credentials. The UFC hall-of-famer is currently ranked at number-12 in the UFC bantamweight division.

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