UFC 245: Kamaru Usman says Colby Covington's pre-fight trash talk will be irrelevant: 'You can't hide behind the fake guy' (VIDEO)

In the main event of 2019's final UFC pay-per-view event on Dec. 14, the welterweight title will be on the line between two heated rivals as reigning champion Kamaru Usman faces trash-talking challenger Colby Covington.

The UFC 245 headliners are about as evenly matched as it can get when it comes to their aggressive, in your face, styles. And on paper, they're identical with 15-1 records and multiple shared names have fallen victim to them.

To capture the title, Usman pitched a phenomenal one-sided shutout of Tyron Woodley in March at UFC 235. The end result being a unanimous decision nod that saw him win all five rounds with a 10-8 score mixed in from two of the three judges. He also set a UFC record for most body shorts landed in a single fight.

Now, he's set to do battle with the brash Covington who constantly has venom to spew. Whether it's at fans, "haters," or fellow fighters, he's made enemies aplenty throughout his career to this point.

"There's been some pretty graphic descriptions of how [the fans] want me to end this guy," Usman told RT Sport at UFC 245 media day.

"Let's just say one ends with him trying to open his eyes but can't because the blood is going into his eyes, so there's a few descriptive ones. But it is what it is."

For Usman, this is easily the biggest fight of his career in terms of the spotlight and being in a high profile matchup. Most of that can be attributed to Covington and his persistent antics.

Because of that, he believes that this will be a fight that further launches him into superstardom. He compared it to lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov after he defeated Conor McGregor.

Despite being calm and calculated by his own words, he has bad intentions planned and those in attendance at the T-Mobile Arena on Saturday will bear witness. He plans to go full force with 100 percent of his energy – no more of this 30 percent talk from the past.

In terms of prior opponents, he's never had one quite like Covington. But he thinks the reason why is being perceived a bit differently than the reality of it all.

"No [I've never fought anyone as crazy and wild as him], but at the same time he's not crazy and wild," Usman clarified.

"This is fake. It's not really him. But when you step inside that Octagon and have to cut through him, his true self has to come out. You can't hide behind the fake guy, the fake guy can't do it because that's fake. It's not real. But when I hit you in the face that's real. So the real Colby has to come out. And that's the guy I'm going to fight. So I see past all these gimmicks and extra bulls**t that's spilling out. I have to fight the real Colby."

When asked if Covington's act was because he was scared to face Usman, the defending champion replied: "Abso-f**kin'-lutely. He's already coming out and saying, 'Hey, this was a gimmick. They were gonna cut me.' Come on, man!

"If you're this character, be that guy. Stay with that guy. Take it with you until you retire and you're done with the sport and let the people know who you are. Keep that same energy. He's not doin' that. He's already finding a way out. He's already showing weakness."

Having to be in hostile situations more often than not with his adversary, it would be safe to assume that Usman's stress levels may be a bit elevated compared to the norm. In this case, however, the 170-pound king just views it as another fight.

"Tyron Woodley was more stressful than this," he shared.

"This is just another fight. Tyron Woodley was changing my life. I needed to become the champion, I needed to be that guy. That was more pressure and more of all that. And you saw how I handled that. So there's no difference here."

In the end, it all boils down to this weekend. A lot of spectators are anticipating Usman to finally be the one to shut up Covington. And according to him, that even includes some of Covington's American Top Team comrades.

"Saturday I have to do a favor for the world and myself."