Jorge Masvidal and Colby Covington are finally set to settle their long-simmering grudge match in the Octagon when they headline UFC 272 on March 5.
Contracts have yet to be officially signed for the 170-pound fight, but the bout is nearly finalized, UFC Chief Business Officer Hunter Campbell told ESPN on Tuesday. The five-round, nontitle bout will anchor the UFC 272 pay-per-view at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Both Masvidal and Covington are MMA fan favorites who share two losses each to UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman.
Masvidal (35-15) hasn’t fought since being knocked out by Usman in a welterweight championship fight at UFC 261 last April. Masvidal also lost to Usman via unanimous decision in July 2020.
Covington (16-3) is also coming off a failed title bid against Usman, which took place last November. The 33-year-old has lost twice to Usman, both by highly competitive decisions.
His most recent win came against former UFC champ and recent Jake Paul KO victim Tyron Woodley in September 2020, but he’s still likely to be a heavy betting favorite in the fight.
Miami-based fighters Masvidal and Covington trained together at American Top Team in South Florida, and were former roommates at one time, per ESPN. The ex-friends had a falling out in 2018, and Covington left ATT in 2020.