UFC 268 predictions — Kamaru Usman vs. Colby Covington 2: Fight card, expert

The UFC returns to New York City on Saturday night for a UFC 268 card headlined by one of the most anticipated fights of the year. Headlining the action from Madison Square Garden is a welterweight title rematch between champion Kamaru Usman and rival Colby Covington.

Usman won the first meeting between the pair at UFC 245 in December 2019, scoring a fifth-round TKO. The fight was filled with back-and-forth action before Usman finally broke Covington down, scoring multiple knockdowns and finally forcing the referee to step in with just 50 seconds left in the bout. Covington has since claimed a conspiracy against him involving the referee cheating him out of a victory with the “quick stoppage.”

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Plus, the women’s strawweight title is on the line once more when champion Rose Namajunas faces off with Weili Zhang in a rematch from April. Namajunas stunned many — including herself — with a vicious first-round knockout to secure her second reign as champion — the first woman to ever accomplish that feat in UFC. Now, Zhang, who saw her 20-fight win streak end, looks to avenge just the second loss of her career.

With so much happening on Saturday night, let’s take a closer look at the full fight card with the latest odds from Caesars Sportsbook before we get to our staff predictions and picks for the PPV portion of the festivities.

UFC 268 fight card, odds

• Kamaru Usman (c) -310 vs. Colby Covington +250, welterweight championship
• Weili Zhang -125 vs. Rose Namajunas (c) +105, women’s strawweight championship
• Marlon Vera -160 vs. Frankie Edgar +135, bantamweight
• Shane Burgos -195 vs. Billy Quarantillo +165, featherweight
• Justin Gaethje -210 vs. Michael Chandler +175, lightweight
• Alex Pereira -260 vs. Andreas Michailids +210, middleweight
• Bobby Green -190 vs. Al Iaquinta +160, lightweight
• Phil Hawes -330 vs. Chris Curtis +260, middleweight
• Nassourdine Imavov -120 vs. Edmen Shahbazyan +100, middleweight
• Ian Garry -400 vs. Jordan Williams +310, welterweight
• Gian Villante -130 vs. Chris Barnett +110, heavyweight
• Dustin Jacoby -380 vs. John Allan +300, light heavyweight
• Melsik Baghdasaryan -400 vs. Bruno Souza +310, featherweight
• Ode Osbourne -190 vs. CJ Vergara +160, flyweight

With such a massive main event on tap, the crew at CBS Sports went ahead with predictions and picks for the main card. Here are your pick makers: Brent Brookhouse (Combat sports writer), Brian Campbell (Combat sports writer, co-host of “Morning Kombat”), Matthew Coca (producer), Jack Crosby (editor), Michael Mormile (producer) and Brandon Wise (senior editor).

UFC 268 picks, predictions