Daniel Cormier explains why Jorge Masvidal vs. Colby Covington may be a closer fight than expected

Jorge Masvidal, Colby Covington, and Daniel Cormier (left to right) [Masvidal and Covington images Courtesy: @colbycovmma and @gamebredfighter on Instagram]

Daniel Cormier believes the upcoming grudge match between Jorge Masvidal and Colby Covington won't be a one-sided affair as many MMA purists might believe.

'DC' explained that Covington is expected to dominate Masvidal with his superior wrestling skills, as he's previously done against prolific strikers like Robbie Lawler.

'𝙉𝙪𝙛𝙛 𝙨𝙖𝙞𝙙 😤 #UFC272 https://t.co/PS3HG1VjVn

However, what many don't understand is that 'Gamebred' is a much-improved fighter now. Cormier, therefore, feels it won't be easy for 'Chaos' to manhandle him inside the octagon.

'DC' pointed out that Masvidal had to focus on improving his wrestling ahead of the fights with Kamaru Usman. All the hard work preparing for the champ might pay dividends in his upcoming scrap with Covington.

In a recent episode of the DC & RC podcast, Cormier said:

"I think stylistically for Colby Covington, this is a great fight, yes, because he feels like he can go and ground Jorge Masvidal. A lot a lot of people from within the sport of mixed martial arts think that it's going to look like Robbie Lawler vs. Colby Covington, where Colby is just trying to overwhelm him with this pressure, but what you don't understand is the improvements that Jorge Masvidal has made in wrestling and his ability to counter a lot of the things that Covington may have been able to do to him in the past years. The guy is a much better fighter today and he's a much better fighter because of his interactions with Kamaru Usman, even though he lost those fights, he got better preparing for the champion."

Check out the podcast below:

'DC' believes Jorge Masvidal vs. Colby Covington will sell a lot of pay-per-views despite not being a title fight

Daniel Cormier believes the scrap between Masvidal and Covington will sell a massive number of pay-per-views despite not being a title fight. The bad blood between the two men, who started off as roommates, fell apart, and are now arch-rivals, is intriguing to say the least.

Best friends turned 𝑩𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝑹𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒍𝒔 💢

@ColbyCovMMA takes on @GamebredFighter at #UFC272 https://t.co/QMJN9HANG4

Even without the backstory to the fight, 'DC' feels like it's an interesting matchup stylistically, and is looking forward to seeing the two top contenders go to war.

"I do believe that this is a fight that can headline a pay-per-view and this is a fight that even without the BMF title will sell a lot of pay-per-views and both of these guys will make a ton of money... I'm just excited to watch it. These are two really good fighters and I think sometimes that's lost in their banter..."

Colby Covington and Jorge Masvidal are set to headline UFC 272 in a rivalry-settling welterweight clash on March 5, 2022. The event will take place at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada.