Khabib Nurmaomgedov pleads with Kamaru Usman to “smash” Colby Covington

Nurmagomedov has called for Usman to smash his bitter rival Covington in their rematch at UFC 268, wishing his friend good luck and praising him as the UFC’s pound-for-pound king

Video Loading

Video Unavailable

The video will auto-play soon8Cancel

Play now

UFC 245: Usman delivers powerful blow to Covington

Khabib Nurmagomedov has sent a good luck message to friend Kamaru Usman telling him to “smash” Colby Covington at UFC 268.

The ‘Nigerian Nightmare’ will face a huge rematch against his bitter rival Covington on Saturday night at Madison Square Garden.

Usman will look to replicate his recent explosive form having won two of his last three bouts by knockout since their first meeting.

And former undefeated champion Nurmagomedov has backed Usman to “smash” his American rival during a good-luck message.

“Really good to see you, brother. Please brother smash this guy [Colby Covington] and defend the belt,” Nurmagomedov told Usman in a call which was shown on UFC Embedded.

“My energy with you, brother. Honestly, I really want him to smash this guy like he did the first time. Let’s go, Kamaru. Pound-for-pound best in the world. Kamaru Usman, Nigerian Nightmare, African Power. Let’s go, brother. I’m with you.”

Usman is managed by Ali Abdelaziz who represented Nurmagomedov until his retirement last year.

Usman is currently ranked as the UFC’s pound-for-pound No.1 having held the welterweight world-title since March 2019.

And despite being notorious for his top-level wrestling, Usman has shown a new aggressive finishing approach to his fight stopping Gilbert Burns and Jorge Masvidal.

But his biggest win yet would come on Saturday night against Covington who he has been embroiled in a bitter feud with, since having to raise his level in victory in the previous showdown.

And the 34-year-old has predicted another brutal stoppage and is anticipating another slug-fest against his determined opposition.

“For me, the wrong that I want to right is in that fight, I fought with emotion,” Usman said during a media day. “As much emotion I was willing to display is what I fought with, which is why I think I got hit quite a bit – but it was fun.

“I had fun. That lets you know that I got a little mad man in me too. I don’t mind getting hit. I want to make it a little bit more flawless this time around.

Will Kamaru Usman retain his welterweight title this weekend? Let us know your prediction in the comments section below.

“Now I’m in the business of pay-per-view, I don’t know if I want him that far back. Of course, I want to go out there and stop him, but I want him to quickly make his way back so I can stop him again for a little bit more money.”

Covington is plotting a huge revenge bid this weekend but has largely been inactive since the first meeting with just one victory over Tyron Woodley on his recent resume.

And the first meeting is a sore topic for Covington who is still adamant that the referee Marc Goddard ended the contest early despite being under siege from a barrage of punches.

He has also moved to deny claims that his jaw was broken despite X-ray images emerging appearing to confirm the extent of the injury.