LAS VEGAS. As much as some would love to see it, Colby Covington isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.
The foul critic scored arguably the biggest win of his career over former friend Jorge Masvidal via unanimous decision (49-46, 50-44, 50-45) in the main event of UFC 272 on Saturday night here at T-Mobile Arena. Rough Covington used his dominating wrestling, pressure and tricky punches to wear down Masvidal, who was able to eviscerate him to the end.
“It wasn’t my best performance,” Covington said at the post-fight press conference. “Just a lot of emotion. This was my true friend at some point in my career… I let my emotions get the better of me. But they were still dominant. I showed the world how good I was.”
1 related
Afterwards, Covington called in another of his former training partners, Dustin Poirier, whom he called “Louisiana swamp trash.” Covington said he wants to be “very active” this year and would like to compete again in July.
“See you soon,” said Covington, referring to Poirier. “You are next!”
Masvidal had moments in the second round before losing to Covington in the fourth. But other than that, Covington controlled most of the fight. After the call, Covington took out his mouthpiece, stuck out his tongue at Masvidal, and blew him kisses.
“I should have had more moments like this, but I was on vacation today,” Masvidal said. “I did not have it”.
The fight was billed as one of the most serious fights in UFC history and a rare non-title main event pay-per-view that did not feature either Conor McGregor or Nate Diaz. The crowd stood behind Masvidal applauding his return. But there were also some “Colby!” chants as well.
Covington and Masvidal are former best friends, roommates and teammates. Masvidal acted as Covington’s mentor when Covington arrived at American Top Team in 2011 after a brilliant wrestling career at Oregon State University. Covington helped Masvidal with his wrestling skills and Masvidal helped teach Covington how to hit.
The two men can’t stand each other now. Covington believes that Masvidal was jealous of his success and stabbed him in the back. Masvidal says Covington is fake and accused Masvidal’s coach Paulino Hernandez of taking a paycheck.
This fight really wasn’t about rankings or titles. It was about settling accounts. But Covington and Masvidal are also elite athletes. Both are multiple contenders for the UFC welterweight title. On ESPN, Covington was ranked #4 in the world at welterweight while Masvidal was #10.
Covington, the former interim UFC welterweight champion, had six takedowns on Saturday, giving him a career-high 67, the second most in UFC welterweight history. Covington edged out Masvidal 94-67 in strikes and 218-90 in total strikes. Covington had 16:14 of the time limit in the 25-minute bout. Masvidal edged out Covington only on significant strikes in the second round, 31-20.
“He makes you worry about the takedown,” UFC president Dana White said at the post-fight press conference. “He fought exactly like I thought he would fight tonight. You have to defend against that takedown all night, so it sets him up to hit.”
Covington landed a takedown relatively early in the first round against a cage and put Masvidal in a precarious position where he had to run around with his feet. Covington almost covered for Masvidal several times. In the second round, Masvidal landed several opening kicks and elbows while Covington went for a takedown. As the round progressed, Masvidal used some good punch combinations and, most importantly, missed his back.
Covington pulled off a takedown early in the third round that was very similar to the first. However, he dealt more damage with a takedown in the third round, landing with elbows and defensive punches. Covington opened fire with his punch combinations in the fourth round. Masvidal saw an opportunity and briefly took Covington down with a right hook, but later said he was too worried about Covington’s takedown to capitalize on it.
“I’m tired,” Masvidal said. “He was tired and injured. This was my chance right here… I didn’t take advantage of this discovery.”
In the fifth, Covington hit an early takedown and Masvidal was unable to return for the remainder of the journey.
“After a while, no matter how much you hate him, you have to respect him,” White said, adding, “He’s a tough dude.”
Covington (17-3) narrowly lost a unanimous decision to Usman, current ESPN king of the weight class, at UFC 268 last November. The California native, who lives and trains in Florida, has won nine of his last 11 fights, with both losses going to Usman. The 34-year-old Covington is pulling out dominant victories over two other former teammates: Tyron Woodley and Robbie Lawler.
“You could tell from his body language that he had nothing left in the fight,” Covington said of Masvidal. “I was ready for five more shots in the parking lot.”
Masvidal (35-16), one of the UFC’s biggest stars, has lost to Usman in two previous fights, both title fights. Most recently, Usman knocked out Masvidal at UFC 261 in April 2021. The Miami native Masvidal became a superstar after defeating Darren Till, Ben Askren and Nate Diaz in 2019. –er name. Masvidal, 37, has been a professional fighter since 2003 and began his career fighting on the streets and backyards.
“Losing to a punk like that sucks, you know?” Masvidal said. “If I’m going to fight another wrestler, I need to make sure I can handle this thing… I need to fix the fight, man.”
Masvidal said that the feud between him and Covington did not subside despite this fight.
“That idiot was talking about my kids,” Masvidal said. “He’s still a guy, if I see him on the street, I’ll give him everything I have to break his damn jaw.”