Usman, Covington, and Volkanovski among several UFC 245 fighters facing lengthy suspensions

Half of the fighters from the UFC 245 championship tripleheader are facing lengthy medical suspensions, including Kamaru Usman, Colby Covington, and Alexander Volkanovski.

With two of the title fights going the distance and the third going deep into the fifth round, it’s no surprise that there would be several precautionary suspensions for those fighters. All of the fighters in the championship bouts were handed at least minimal suspensions, but two of the champions could be sidelined for as long as six months.

Welterweight champion Usman fought a hard stand-up battle with Covington before finally scoring a TKO stoppage at the 4:10 mark of the final frame. 

Usman didn’t look any worse for the wear after the bout, but could be out for six months because of potential damage to his left thumb.

Covington, however, suffered a much more serious injury. Bloodied and bruised, Covington was found to have suffered a non-displaced midline mandibular fracture (aka broken jaw), which netted him a lengthy suspension.

Volkanovski fought a five-round war with Max Holloway, getting the better of him on the scorecards, to take the UFC featherweight championship from the man many consider to be the greatest featherweight of all time. Doctors suspect damage to his right hand, however, so Volkanovski must get cleared before he can even begin to think of a rematch or defending the belt against anyone else.

In all, seven fighters could be out until June of 2020, after the Nevada State Athletic Commission released the UFC 245: Usman vs. Covington medical suspensions on Monday. 

UFC 245 took place on Saturday, Dec. 14, at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

This article first appeared at News – MMAWeekly.com

Help support MMACrazies.com when you shop Amazon by starting your online Amazon shopping at MMACrazies.com/recommends/amazon. You are not charged extra, but we receive a small and very helpful commission on everything you purchase. Thanks for thinking of us every time you shop at Amazon.