LAS VEGAS — The most hate-filled feud in the UFC ended in a predictable fashion Saturday in the main event of UFC 272 at T-Mobile Arena. Colby Covington used his wrestling, grappling and cardio to control one-time close friend turned bitter rival Jorge Masvidal and pull out a unanimous decision.
Billed as “The Battle of Miami,” where both lived and trained, it wasn’t much of a contest. Covington’s wrestling was the difference as he was on top of Masvidal for much of the fight and didn’t give him room to punch.
Judges had it 50-44, 50-45 and 49-46 for Covington. Yahoo Sports had it 49-46 for Covington.
Masvidal dropped Covington once with a right hand, but Covington was up instantly and right back on top of him. And for most of the fight, Covington would punch his way into wrestling range, take Masvidal down and then work for the choke.
Masvidal did a great job of defending Covington’s grappling exchanges, and nothing was ever really close. But Masvidal couldn’t get untracked and Covington was peppering him with shots.
Covington was triumphant in victory, but didn’t have much to say in the Octagon afterward. Instead, he called out another former teammate, ex-interim lightweight champion Dustin Poirier.
“I just took care of Miami street trash,” Covington said. “Now it’s time to take care of Louisiana swamp trash. Where you at Dustin Poirier?”
Covington and Masvidal sparred countless rounds together as teammates and used to corner each other. They clearly knew the other’s style, and Covington knew he couldn’t afford to give Masvidal space to throw punches.
For most of the fight, Masvidal was either defending punches or trying to get off his back.
“I needed to create more space,” Masvidal said glumly.
Covington opened as a -325 favorite at BetMGM and closed at -320, with a few line swings. But bettors were as certain as Covington about his wrestling.
It proved to be a well-founded belief, given that Covington is one of the elite wrestlers in the sport and Masvidal got into it as a street fighter who boxed for food and money in backyards.
It will never be remembered as one of the UFC’s great fights, but it did prove that the top-ranked Covington is leaps and bounds ahead of anyone else in the division save for champion Kamaru Usman.