A grudge match between former title challengers – and former friends – headlines a massive UFC 272 card this weekend.
The welterweight duo of Jorge Masvidal and Colby Covington were once ‘inseparable’ best friends who even previously lived together, Covington said recently, only to have a bitter falling out.
For 37-year-old Masvidal (35-15, 12-8 UFC), the fight looms as a last opportunity to return to contention as a title challenger. Masvidal lost twice to welterweight champion Kamaru Usman – in 2020 and 2021 – though the first saw him sign up as a late-notice replacement.
Now the sixth-ranked welterweight contender, Masvidal needs to beat his former best friend to have any shot at a title fight.
Watch UFC 272: Covington vs Masvidal LIVE on Main Event available on Kayo & Foxtel, Sunday 6th March from 2pm AEDT. ORDER NOW >
Covington is the top-ranked contender with a 16-3 (11-3 UFC) record and wins over a trio of former champions in Rafael Dos Anjos, Robbie Lawler and Tyron Woodley.
Like his opponent, Covington has also lost twice to ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ Usman – though on both occasions he was with his 170-pound rival all the way, losing the first fight in 2019 via a TKO in the final minute of round five, and via unanimous decision in November last year.
Play-by-play UFC commentator Jon Anik told MMA Fighting: “There’s a lot of different layers to it, and if Covington is going to get a third crack at Usman — who presumably is going to fight Leon Edwards next — this is a fight he absolutely has to win, and I think the same could be said for Masvidal.
“I think whoever loses this fight is probably never gonna fight for the belt again.”
The stakes are sky-high for their bout, which will take place over five rounds despite being a non-title fight.
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In the co-main event at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, veteran Rafael dos Anjos returns from a 15-month lay-off to take on late-notice replacement Renato Moicano.
Moicano stepped up to take the fight after Rafael Fiziev tested positive for Covid-19, with the fight set to take place at a 160-pound catchweight.
Remarkably, the fight will be five rounds, making it the first time in UFC history a non-title main event and non-title co-main bout will both be contested for five rounds.
RDA has fought against some of the best of the best at welterweight and lightweight and hasn’t been too consistent – going 12-7 since 2013 – but is hoping to be back to his best after finally healing from numerous injuries.
Moicano, meanwhile, has benefited from jumping up from featherweight to lightweight, where he has a 3-1 record with a trio of submission finishes.
There’s also a juicy bout between knockout artist Edson Barboza and rising star Bryce Mitchell. Brazilian Barboza (22-10) went on a 1-5 stretch at lightweight then dropped down to featherweight, where he sits at 2-2.
Meanwhile submission specialist Mitchell (14-1) is 5-0 in the UFC and hoping to launch himself into the top echelon of fighters.
Another bout to watch is the undercard match-up between Marina Rodriguez and Yan Xiaonan, two top-five strawweight contenders.
Their combined record of 11-2-2 has seen them both lose to ex-champion Carla Esparza, who is set to fight Rose Namajunas for the belt – after beating her via a third-round rear-naked choke back in 2014 to become the first ever UFC champion at 115 pounds.
The winner of Rodriguez and Xiaonan this weekend would be all-but-assured of a title shot should Namajunas beat Esparza.
HOW TO WATCH
MMA fans in Australia can watch UFC 272: Covington vs Masvidal live stream on Main Event on Foxtel and Kayo.
The action takes place on Sunday, March 6, with the Main Card starting at 2pm AEDT.
The preliminary card begins at 12pm AEDT on ESPN on Kayo.
Watch UFC 272: Covington vs Masvidal LIVE on Main Event available on Kayo & Foxtel, Sunday 6th March from 2pm AEDT. ORDER NOW >
Main Card
Colby Covington vs. Jorge Masvidal
Rafael dos Anjos vs. Rafael Fiziev
Edson Barboza vs. Bryce Mitchell
Kevin Holland vs. Alex Oliveira
Sergey Spivak vs. Greg Hardy
Preliminary Card
Jalin Turner vs. Jamie Mullarkey
Marina Rodriguez vs. Yan Xiaonan
Nicolae Negumereanu vs. Kennedy Nzechukwu
Maryna Moroz vs. Mariya Agapova
Early Preliminary Card
Brian Kelleher vs. Umar Nurmagomedov
Tim Elliott vs. Tagir Ulanbekov
Devonte Smith vs. Ludovit Klein
Michal Oleksiejczuk vs. Dustin Jacoby