It is rare for a non-title bout to main event a UFC pay-per-view, but Colby Covington and Jorge Masvidal’s rivalry is so bitter that their clash this evening has received five-round, headline billing at UFC 272.
Covington and Masvidal were close friends, long-time training partners and teammates, and even lived together before their relationship shattered – leaving just the fierce rivalry that exists between the Americans now. Masvidal has accused Covington of failing to fully pay a former coach, also alleging that the former interim welterweight champion owes debts to various loan sharks in Miami, while his rival returned fire by admonishing Masvidal over his parenting skills and relationship to his wife.
Covington has established himself as somewhat of a pantomime villain in the UFC, while veteran Masvidal became a star in 2019 by fighting three times and securing three stoppage wins – a knockout of Liverpool’s Darren Till in London, a record-setting five-second KO of Ben Askren, and a domination of Nate Diaz at Madison Square Garden. Both Covington and Masvidal have failed to dethrone current welterweight champion Kamaru Usman on two occasions, meaning they face long roads back to a title shot. Those roads begin with this clash at Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena.
Follow live updates from the UFC 272 prelims, main card and main event, below.
