UFC 272

2022 - 3 - 6

Colby Covington - Covington vs Masvidal - Masvidal - UFC 272 fight card - colby vs masvidal - masvidal vs covington

Post cover — Image courtesy of "ESPN Australia"

UFC 272 takeaways: Who's next for Covington? Is it time for the UFC to cut Greg Hardy? (ESPN Australia)

Colby Covington utilized a clear strategy to wear down Jorge Masvidal over five rounds and earned a unanimous decision victory at UFC 272. Covington's wrestling was simply too much for Masvidal, resulting in most of the fight being contested on the mat ...

Did he deserve to be in the UFC that early in his career? Rodriguez had a solid showing Saturday. It was good enough to get the win. Raimondi: Rodriguez is one of the best women's strawweight fighters in the world. Did he deserve an opportunity to be in professional sports -- period -- given some of the details of his past? A freak athlete, obviously, who looked comfortable in a fist fight from the very beginning. Holland needs to remember that whatever edge in strength he might bring down from 185 pounds, he loses some of the speed advantage he was used to. Dos Anjos was planning on fighting Islam Makhachev, but that fight failed to come to fruition for the third time. This is a legit win against a very dangerous featherweight, with a ton of experience fighting at the highest level. If Evloev wins, you're talking about a matchup between, potentially, two of the very best grapplers in the division. If he can't win the championship right now, the next best thing is to build his name and become a legit pay-per-view draw. He could raise the profile of a potential title challenger. He's on the last fight of his UFC deal.

'Total domination': UFC's most hated man lays on 25-minute ... (Fox Sports)

'Total domination': UFC's most hated man lays on 25-minute beatdown of bitter rival.

Masvidal’s inability to maintain his distance and keep the fight standing up ruined any chance of victory against his bitter enemy. Hip-hop sensation Drake lost himself a whopping $373k on the main event for UFC 272, having put the mammoth wager on Masvidal to win. Though Masvidal did have his moments, they were few and far between – the best being a fourth-round counter right hook that dropped Covington to a knee. And that animosity was evident from the opening moment of the fight. They call me ‘he died, Russian army killed him’. And I feel terrible. I don’t want. Speaking later, Moroz added: “I think my mother right now is nervous. Thank you everyone.”” He came flying out of the gates in the second round and had the Brazilian pinned up against the fence, before the referee had seen enough as ‘Cowboy’ curled up to protect himself. Things remained equally ugly once the fight began. Masvidal copped an eye poke in the first round, an illegal knee to the groin in the second, and five rounds of pain and punishment overall. Covington repeatedly took Masvidal down to the mat – six times in all – and looked in complete control of the fight for lengthy portions.

Khamzat Chimaev calls UFC 272 main event between Jorge ... (talkSPORT.com)

Colby Covington secured the victory over Jorge Masvidal at UFC 272 but Khamzat Chimaev wasn't impressed.The 10-0 MMA prodigy was in attendance with.

With so much bad blood, fans expected a real war that they were never really going to get. Masvidal is a knockout puncher, but Covington is a true grappler and the tactics he used to win the fight, whilst not sexy, was exactly what he needed to do. Covington and Masvidal is a story of close friends turned bitter enemies, but the fight was all about Covington drowning Masvidal with his grappling.

UFC 272 - After beating Jorge Masvidal, Colby Covington is likely to ... (ESPN.co.uk)

With a title shot out of reach, Colby Covington's options for the time being seem to suggest he'll follow a familiar pattern.

A mere athletic contest might not satisfy the enmity of Masvidal. But this gritty game is elevated to something nobler when two combatants who've been beating the crap out of each other for half an hour hear the final horn, end the violence and hug out of respect. And what we saw at the end of the night between Covington and Masvidal was anything but that. At the end of UFC 272, Covington tried to continue the ugly narrative. Nowhere is the combativeness as feisty as it is in the fight business. The callout may seem a bit surprising, but what else is there for Covington to do? And the bout was not even an eliminator to establish the winner as a title challenger. If Usman remains at the top of Mount Welterweight, it's going to be a long road back up that mountain for Covington. Anyone who suspected that maybe, just maybe, the two old roommates had ginned up a friendship-gone-bad angle just to sell pay-per-views was mistaken. The ending was anticlimactic for a fight in which both men promised unabated violence. As athletic commission officials raced into the Octagon to ensure that fisticuffs were done for the night, the fighters yapped at each other from a distance. And for a brief moment in Round 4, when Masvidal stung Covington with a punch and sent him stumbling toward the ground, the fight felt like it might turn into a striking match. Everyone just slid a little closer to the edge of their seats, if sitting was even an option for fans who had been waiting with rapt anticipation for this grudge match.

Colby Covington dominates Jorge Masvidal in grudge match at UFC ... (ESPN)

Colby Covington outwrestled and outfought Jorge Masvidal to win their grudge match in a one-sided decision Saturday night at UFC 272.

Covington got a takedown relatively early in the first round against the cage and put Masvidal in a precarious, leg-ride position. "I was ready for another five rounds in the parking lot." Covington got the takedown early in the third round, which was very much like the first. "I was tired," Masvidal said. Coming in, ESPN had Covington ranked No. 4 in the world at welterweight and Masvidal at No. 10. In the second round, Masvidal landed some early leg kicks and elbows, with Covington going for a takedown. Covington outlanded Masvidal 94-67 in significant strikes and 218-90 in total strikes. Masvidal only outlanded Covington in significant strikes in the second round 31-20. After the bell, Covington took out his mouthpiece, stuck out his tongue at Masvidal and blew him kisses. Covington and Masvidal are former best friends, roommates and teammates. "I should have had more moments like that, but I was off today," Masvidal said. But other than that, Covington was in control for the majority of the fight.

UFC 272 results, highlights: Colby Covington grinds out decision ... (CBSSports.com)

Covington relied on his wrestling mastery to control the fight over 25 minutes of action in Las Vegas.

Moicano 10-9 (49-44 overall for dos Anjos) That friendship dissolved, leading to one of the most bitter main event match-ups in UFC history. Masvidal made his way to the feet with 30-seconds left but ate a big elbow on the clinch break. Round 2: Covington and Masvidal had measured exchanges on the feet. Masvidal made it to his feet in the closing seconds of the round. Covington managed to recover, returning fire and making it to the end of the round. 10-9 Covington (49-46 overall for Covington) Masvidal managed to roll with the punches and rocked Covington at approximately the 3:30 mark. Covington sucked the drama out of the final round by blitzing forward and taking Masvidal down. Subscribe to Morning Kombat with Luke Thomas and Brian Campbell for the best analysis and in-depth news, including instant analysis to UFC 272 at the conclusion of the event below. That set up the round for Covington to dominate nearly every second of the five-minute frame with ground and pound. Colby Covington and Jorge Masvidal were once close friends before their relationship soured and the pair spent years trading barbs in interviews.