Jorge Masvidal to face Colby Covington in the main event of UFC 272
Colby Covington and Jorge Masvidal are set to fight in the main event of UFC 272 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on March 5th, 2022.
The former American Top Team (ATT) training partners will be involved in the high-profile headliner after previously planned featherweight and bantamweight title fights didn't materialize for the card.
Renowned ESPN MMA journalist Brett Okamoto took to Twitter to reveal the news on Tuesday. He added that UFC Chief Business Officer Hunter Campbell confirmed the same.
"Let's have some fun. Masvidal [@GamebredFighter] vs. Covington [@ColbyCovMMA] will headline UFC 272 on March 5, per UFC Chief Business Officer Hunter Campbell. Five rounds, Las Vegas. Can not WAIT."
See Okamoto's tweet about the UFC finalizing a March main event between Masvidal and Covington below:
Let's have some fun. Jorge Masvidal (@GamebredFighter) vs. Colby Covington (@ColbyCovMMA) will headline UFC 272 on March 5, per UFC Chief Business Officer Hunter Campbell. Five rounds, Las Vegas. Can not WAIT. es.pn/3fl9wL3
The Alexander Volkanovski vs. Max Holloway trilogy fight for the featherweight championship was initially scheduled to headline UFC 272. However, 'Blessed' pulled out of the bout after aggravating a pre-existing injury. The 'Korean Zombie', Chan Sung Jung is expected to replace Holloway.
Meanwhile, Aljamain Sterling vs. Petr Yan rematch for the bantamweight belt was moved as 'No Mercy' has not yet been vaccinated. Both the bantamweight and featherweight title bouts are expected to be added to UFC 273.
Jorge Masvidal was scheduled to square off against Leon Edwards at UFC 269 last month
Jorge Masvidal has not fought since losing to welterweight titleholder Kamaru Usman for the second straight time at UFC 261 in April last year.
He was scheduled to finally fight long-time rival Leon Edwards at UFC 269 in December 2021. However, 'Gamebred' withdrew from the contest after suffering an undisclosed injury. Hence, 'Rocky' was also removed from the card.
"Masvidal has suffered and injury and his fight against Edwards has been scrapped from #UFC269," said Damon Martin.
Here's MMA reporter Martin's tweet regarding the cancelation of Masvidal vs. Edwards:
Jorge Masvidal has suffered an injury and his fight against Leon Edwards has been scrapped from #UFC269
mmafighting.com/2021/11/10/227…
The UFC seemingly decided against rebooking Edwards vs. Masvidal. Instead, they have decided to go with 'Chaos' as the BMF champion's next opponent.
Colby Covington has also lost two title fights against Usman. He was involved in a long-lasting, public feud with Masvidal and the likes of Dustin Poirier and Joanna Jedrzejczyk during his time at ATT.
The former interim welterweight champ eventually left the gym to join the MMA Masters team. He called out 'Street Jesus' after his UFC 268 loss at Madison Square Garden in New York City.