For the first time in two years, the octagon will take over Madison Square Garden.
UFC confirmed during Saturday’s UFC Fight Night broadcast that it will hold it’s UFC 268 pay-per-view event at the World’s Most Famous Arena on Nov. 6.
Welterweight champion Kamaru Usman will defend his crown against Colby Covington, for the second time, in the main event. The champion stopped Covington via fifth-round TKO in December 2019 and successfully defended his title twice in the first half of this year.
The other confirmed championship bout thus far features strawweight titleholder Rose Namajunas in an immediate rematch against Zhang Weili, whom the champ knocked out in the first round when the two met in April as Namajunas regained the 115-pound crown. Namajunas won the title the first time at the Garden in November 2017.
Other bouts announced during Saturday’s broadcast include former lightweight title challengers Justin Gaethje and Michael Chandler locking horns; Sean Strickland versus former middleweight champ Luke Rockhold at 185 pounds; ex-lightweight champ Frankie Edgar against Marlon Vera at bantamweight; former women’s featherweight champ Germaine de Randamie versus Irene Aldana at bantamweight; and one-time lightweight title challenger and Long Island native Al Iaquinta versus Bobby Green.
The UFC traditionally holds a marquee event at the Garden in early November, dating back to the 2016 return of MMA to New York after years of lobbying for sanctioning in the state. The COVID-19 pandemic forced a pause in the promotion holding events outside of Las Vegas or Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
The most recent stop in Manhattan, UFC 244 on Nov. 2, 2019, was headlined by Jorge Masvidal’s victory over Nate Diaz in the special one-off BMF championship bout.