Kamaru Usman Reveals Broken Hand Prior to UFC 268 Colby Covington Rematch

.@USMAN84kg on breaking his hand before the fight pic.twitter.com/L1JEi7jQyK

— Full Send Podcast (@fullsendpodcast) November 24, 2021

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Recently victorious Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight kingpin Kamaru Usman kept a firm grip on his title even with a broken hand.

On Wednesday afternoon, Usman spoke on the Full Send Podcast about his UFC 268 meeting with Colby Covington. According to the champ, he broke his right hand three weeks prior to the fight date of Nov. 6, and did not strike with that hand until fight night.

“Yeah, I broke it before the fight,” Usman admitted on the Full Send Podcast. “Most people didn’t know that, so…yeah, I broke it three weeks before and I didn’t throw it a day until my fight.”

When asked about how that impacted training, or if he used his hand for anything after the break, Usman firmly replied no.

“I didn’t throw it until the back, back…right in the backstage, where you warm up before the fight,” Usman said. “I didn’t throw my hands for three weeks. My right hand.”

After a little hesitation, Usman shared how it happened, and who was involved in its break.

“I broke it on someone’s head, yeah,” the champion stated flatly. “Justin Gaethje’s head…we spar together…same coach, we’re like main training partners slash big brother, little brother slash two assassins in the same place.”

With a smile, Usman followed up about how training goes between the two.

“I mean, he gets the better of me sometimes, yeah,” Usman finished.

Despite the self-proclaimed injury, Usman outstruck his foe 123 to 107 in terms of significant strikes as he captured a unanimous verdict in their second battle. The champion also recorded a pair of knockdowns in the second frame, and ended the match with a significant strike accuracy rate of 41% having landed 80 shots to the head.