Could the UFC 272 main event, the heavily promoted grudge match between former teammates Colby Covington and Jorge Masvidal, possibly live up to the hype when it finally went down on Saturday night?
The might have been the biggest question heading into Fight Night. Not one of styles, or endurance, or even whether the pair could keep their emotions in check. The UFC had put a lot of effort into promoting it’s first non-title Pay-Per-View headliner since Poirier-McGregor 3.
Saturday, we’d know if it paid off. And what resulted was a fun fight, with Covington surviving a scare in the fourth round to otherwise dominate “Gamebred.”
In round one the anticipation had mounted and the two began to trade with Masvidal getting the better of the exchanges forcing Covington to shoot and take Masvidal down. For most of the rest of the first Covington dominated Masvidal with short shots, and working the choke. Masvidal was able to stand but would get taken back down repeatedly.
Round two was a better round for Masvidal as he was able to land on Covington, but did get taken down. Even though Masvidal was able to stand back up Covington was there to take him right back down again. Masvidal repeatedly fought off takedowns or would stand up after getting taken down but the damage piled up in Covington’s favor.
Again in round three things began more competitive than the first, but Covington got an easy takedown a couple minutes in and landed a lot of shots on Masvidal. Near the end of the round Masvidal was able to get to his feet and land a couple heavy shots as the round ended.
Round four was way more competitive as Colby was able to put it on Masvidal with the takedowns and shots, but near the end of the fourth Masvidal was able to wobble him. For whatever reason Masvidal did not go after Covington to finish him. Colby survived the end of the round and we entered the fifth.
Round five was complete domination for Colby Covington. Masvidal had moments to shine, but Covington made it a wrestling match landing some brutal elbows and short shots on the ground. In the clinch Colby made sure to land on Masvidal before shooting on him. The rest of the round was Covington landing on Masvidal switching positions, all on the ground, and Masvidal had no answer. The fight went to the judges, who didn’t offer up any surprises.
Still chirping before the decision 🤬 #UFC272 pic.twitter.com/TcXdWuPaNG
— UFC (@ufc) March 6, 2022
In his post-fight interview Covington called out former teammate Dustin Poirier. As for Masvidal and Covington, they were still sparring verbally after the fight — so as predicted, there’ll be no burying of the hatchet.
Official Result: Colby Covington def. Jorge Masvidal by unanimous decision (49-46, 50-44, 50-45)
