Colby Covington used his grappling to neutralize the striking of Jorge Masvidal and take a comfortable unanimous decision victory at UFC 272.
Covington used the takedown from the opening round and while he didn’t inflict much damage, he did put Masvidal on the defensive.
Masvidal did come back in the second round with leg kicks and a knockdown of Covington via a hard elbow. He would have to wait until the fourth round for another, his biggest moment of the bout but was unable to follow up. He said in the post-fight press conference that he thought Covington going to try for another takedown and should have pounced.
Covington recovered to control the fight on the ground in the final round to walk away with a 49-46, 50-44, and 50-45 decision.
Maybez fight a welterweight contender?
— The Diamond (@DustinPoirier) March 6, 2022
The win returns Covington to the win column and in the post-fight interview, he called out Dustin Poirier for a fight. Poirier has said in recent comments that he will never fight Covington in the octagon, so we’ll have to see if this matchup becomes a realistic one.
Masvidal (35-16-0), 37, lamented the missed opportunity in the fourth and acknowledged the superior wrestling of Covington in the fight while still not liking him. He said he needs to “fix” the hole in his wrestling game not just for Covington, but for other wrestlers that have given him problems for much of his career.
Covington and Masvidal earned Fight of the Night, while Kevin Holland and Maryna Moroz earned performances of the night. Each fighter earned a $50,000 USD bonus.
Your FOTN honors belong to the main event of the evening👏👏👏
[ #UFC272 | B2YB @ToyoTires ] pic.twitter.com/Fth0SPOpXE
— UFC (@ufc) March 6, 2022
No doubt about it!
Maryna Moroz & @Trailblaze2Top are walking away with tonight's POTN honors 💵
[ #UFC272 | B2YB @SweetSweat ] pic.twitter.com/ukJN48F4R5
— UFC (@ufc) March 6, 2022
Kenai Andrews checks in with his thoughts on the card.
UFC 272 FIGHT PASS PRELIMS
DUSTIN JACOBY VS. MICHEL OLEKSIEJCZUK
𝙒𝙞𝙧𝙚-𝙩𝙤-𝙬𝙞𝙧𝙚!@TheHanyakDJ extends his unbeaten streak to 8️⃣!
[ #UFC272 | Early Prelims Live on @ESPNPlus & @UFCFightPass ] pic.twitter.com/845nlNVvtz
— UFC (@ufc) March 5, 2022
WINNER: DUSTIN JACOBY VIA UD (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
ANDREWS PREDICTION: DUSTIN JACOBY VIA TKO
Andrews: Jacoby’s height and reach give him a good advantage.
DEVONTE SMITH VS. L’UDOVIT KLEIN
By split decision!
Ludovit Klein takes the W on short notice 💪
[ #UFC272 | Early Prelims are LIVE on @ESPNPlus & @UFCFightPass ] pic.twitter.com/zdBqFMrlnS
— UFC (@ufc) March 6, 2022
WINNER: L’UDOVIT KLEIN VIA SD (28-29, 29-28, 30-27)
ANDREWS PREDICTION: L’UDOVIT KLEIN VIA SUBMISSION
Andrews: I smelled an upset here and it came through. Klein is a great story, check it out.
TIM ELLIOTT VS. TAGIR ULANBEKOV
A 𝙎𝙃𝘼𝙍𝙋 performance for @TElliott125 ⚡️
[ #UFC272 | Early Prelims are LIVE on @UFCFightPass & @ESPNPlus ] pic.twitter.com/JB2DCOo2vr
— UFC (@ufc) March 6, 2022
WINNER: TIM ELLIOTT VIA UD (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
ANDREWS PREDICTION: TAGIR ULANBECKOV VIA UD
Andrews: Khabib was mad. But give credit to Elliott for showing up.
BRIAN KELLEHER VS. UMAR NURMAGOMEDOV
The BW division has a problem on its hands 😤
[ @UNmgdv | #UFC272 ] pic.twitter.com/q4P9IbeyGf
— UFC (@ufc) March 6, 2022
WINNER: UMAR NURMAGOMEDOV VIA SUBMISSION (RNC) R1 3:15
ANDREWS PREDICTION: UMAR NURMAGOMEDOV VIA SUBMISSION
Andrews: Umar gets to keep wearing Khabib’s hat.
UFC 272 PRELIMS
MARYNA MOROZ VS. MARIYA AGAPOVA
The Iron Lady Maryna Moroz makes it 𝑻𝑯𝑹𝑬𝑬-𝑺𝑻𝑹𝑨𝑰𝑮𝑯𝑻! 👏
[ #UFC272 | Prelims are LIVE on @ESPNPlus ] pic.twitter.com/f4lRW3SQUf
— UFC (@ufc) March 6, 2022
WINNER: MARYNA MOROZ VIA SUBMISSION (ARM-TRIANGLE CHOKE) R2 2:27
ANDREWS PREDICTION: MARIYA AGAPOVA VIA SUBMISSION
Andrews: Moroz did Ukraine proud. Great win.
NICOLAE NEGUMEREANU VS. KENNEDY NZECHUKWU
The split decision makes it 3 in a row for Nicolae Megumereanu 💪 #UFC272 pic.twitter.com/RLRK2BdCkR
— UFC (@ufc) March 6, 2022
WINNER: NICOLAE NEGUMEREAU VIA SD (27-29, 29-27, 29-27)
ANDREWS PREDICTION: KENNEDY NZECHUKWU VIA TKO
Andrews: Close fight. Kennedy has to find a way of winning these close fights.
#3 MARINA RODRIGUEZ VS. #4 YAN XIAONAN
🙌 @WMMARZ gets the SD win to make it 4 in a row!
[ #UFC272 | Prelims are LIVE on @ESPN & E+ ] pic.twitter.com/HCoYmfPOMY
— UFC (@ufc) March 6, 2022
WINNER: MARINA RODRIGUEZ VIA SD (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
ANDREWS PREDICTION: MARINA RODRIGUEZ VIA UD
Andrews: Yan did well but just fell short.
JALIN TURNER VS. JAMIE MULLARKEY
THE 100% FINISH RATE REMAINS 💯
[ @JalinTurner | #UFC272 ] pic.twitter.com/tp1VeerWLb
— UFC (@ufc) March 6, 2022
WINNER: JALIN TURNER VIA TKO (PUNCHES) R2 0:46
ANDREWS PREDICTION: JALIN TURNER VIA TKO
Andrews: Jalin is the real deal.
MAIN CARD
SERGEY SPIVAK VS. GREG HARDY
THAT'S HOW YOU OPEN THE MAIN CARD!!!
[ #UFC272 | We're LIVE on ESPN+ PPV: https://t.co/A6HVDV98ON ] pic.twitter.com/BYDUctSdb0
— UFC (@ufc) March 6, 2022
WINNER: SERGEY SPIVACK VIA TKO (PUNCHES) R1 2:16
ANDREWS PREDICTION: SERGEY SPIVACK VIA TKO
Andrews: Hardy is finding out there are levels to the heavyweight division.
KEVIN HOLLAND VS. ALEX OLIVEIRA
That's how you bounce back in a 𝐁𝐈𝐆 way 💪
[ @Trailblaze2Top | #UFC272 ] pic.twitter.com/dBUgqQaEOM
— UFC (@ufc) March 6, 2022
WINNER: KEVIN HOLLAND VIA TKO (ELBOWS) R2 0:38
ANDREWS PREDICTION: KEVIN HOLLAND VIA UD
Andrews: Impressive welterweight debut for Holland. Let’s see what he can make here.
#10 EDSON BARBOZA VS. #11 BRYCE MITCHELL
There's no victory without respect 🤝 #UFC272 pic.twitter.com/0v0Lqk2Eth
— UFC (@ufc) March 6, 2022
WINNER: BRYCE MITCHELL VIA UD (30-25, 30-26, 30-27)
ANDREWS PREDICTION: BRYCE MITCHELL VIA UD
Andrews: It’s all about Arkansas. It might be time for Barboza to think about hanging them up.
#6 RAFAEL DOS ANJOS VS. RENATO MOICANO
Absolute 𝐃𝐎𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐀𝐍𝐂𝐄 from @RdosAnjosMMA 😤
[ #UFC272 | We're LIVE on ESPN+ PPV: https://t.co/A6HVDURxXf ] pic.twitter.com/wAg4Ub50Dp
— UFC (@ufc) March 6, 2022
WINNER: RAFAEL DOS ANJOS VIA UD (49-45, 49-44, 50-44)
ANDREWS PREDICTION: RAFAEL DOS ANJOS VIA UD
Andrews: Moicano has some heart. RDA looked good.
MAIN EVENT
#1 COLBY COVINGTON VS. #6 JORGE MASVIDAL
Still chirping before the decision 🤬 #UFC272 pic.twitter.com/TcXdWuPaNG
— UFC (@ufc) March 6, 2022
WINNER: COLBY COVINGTON VIA UD (49-46, 50-44, 50-45)
ANDREWS PREDICTION: COLBY COVINGTON VIA UD
Andrews: Covington was smart, used his grappling and even outstruck Masvidal for the most part. He got clipped a couple of times but survived those moments. He is the clear No. 2 in the division.
The next UFC event is UFC Fight Night 203, which is scheduled for Saturday, Mar. 12 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Light heavyweight Thiago Santos takes on Magomed Ankalaev in the main event.
