Colby Covington beats Jorge Masvidal at UFC 272 via unanimous decision in grudge-match

Colby Covington dominated bitter rival Jorge Masvidal to a satisfying win at UFC 272 on Saturday night at the T-Mobile Arena.

The former best friends faced off as the main event in Las Vegas to see who the better fighter was with ‘Chaos’ reigning supreme.

Both were coming off losses to the current welterweight champion Kamaru Usman – where Covington suffered a decision defeat, while Masvidal suffered a knockout in the second round.

The rivalry between Masvidal and Covington started when the former claimed the latter failed to pay former coach Mike Brown for a training camp. Covington denied these rumours and the two have been going back and forth for several years since.

In the build-up to the bout, both had very violent intentions for the other, but it ultimately came down to who was the better fighter on the night. In this case, Covington.

Through the whole five rounds Covington was able to utilise his wrestling to dominate Masvidal to a 49-46, 50-45 & 50-44 unanimous decision.

‘Gamebred’ had his moment in the fourth round where he hit Covington with a right hook dropping him but lacked enough pressure to pursue the finish.

Tensions were still simmering after the win as Covington continued to taunt his former room-mate which resulted in security having to break both up and prevent a potential brawl.

Post-fight reaction

In Covington’s post-fight interview he claimed he ‘took care of Miami’s street trash’ referring to Masvidal.

The No 1-ranked welterweight was quick to put his rivalry firmly in his past when asked about him.

‘That’s the end of Street Judas I don’t want to hear any more of ‘Street Judas’, the hype machine who hit lightning in a bottle for a couple of fights. He’s done. I don’t want to hear another word about him.”

Covington is now looking into the future as he eyes another score to settle with again, this time former team-mate Dustin Poirier who he called ‘Louisiana swamp trash’.

By Byron Goodchild