Fight of the Night: Colby Covington vs Jorge Masvidal
While the bad blood between Colby Covington (17-3 MMA, 12-3 UFC) and Jorge Masvidal (35-16 MMA, 12-9 UFC) may not be settled after tonight, Covington was the one to walk away with his hand raised.
In the opening moments of the first round, Masvidal attempted to land his patented flying knee, but Covington would stay clear and respond with a few shots of his own. Covington was relentless with his pressure and takedown attempts, eventually getting Masvidal down to the canvas for a brief moment. Masvidal started the second round much stronger, landing clean kicks. In the midst of a clinching battle, Covington would land a low knee that would bring the fight to a brief holt.
Entering the championship rounds, Covington’s gas tank and conditioning was proving to be too much. Covington’s strikes were finding their home, but with 90 seconds left in the round, Masvidal would land a flush right that would send Covington to his knee for a brief moment. Masvidal wasn’t able to capitalize on the opening due to fatigue, as Covington was able to quickly shake off the cobwebs to get back in the fight.
In the final round, Covington continued with his pressure and would eventually get Masvidal back to the mat. Masvidal would get back to his feet briefly but would have no answer for Covington’s wrestling. In the final seconds, Covington was able to land some ground-and-pound strikes before the bout came to an end. Covington and Masvidal would stand to their feet and continue the trashtalk, even after the fight concluded. All three judges would give the win to Covington, putting a brief end to one of the most heated rivalries the octagon has seen.
Performance of the Night: Kevin Holland
“Big Mouth” backed up the talk in his UFC welterweight debut. Kevin Holland (22-7 MMA, 9-4 UFC) and Alex Oliveira (22-12-1 MMA, 11-10 UFC) went back and forth in a highly competitive first round, but it was all Holland off the jump in the second. A perfect connection put Oliveira down on the canvas, and Holland turned up the heat, raining a combination of punches and elbows that ended the fight.
It was a great introduction to the welterweight division for Holland, and only exciting things are on the horizon for one of UFC’s most entertaining fighters.
Performance of the Night: Maryna Moroz
Covington and Masvidal weren’t the only two fighters with some bad blood at UFC 272. Maryna Moroz (11-3 MMA, 6-3 UFC) and Mariya Agapova traded words before they made it to the octagon, but it was Moroz who backed up the talk. Moroz executed her gameplan of strong grappling mixed with submission attempts en route to a beautiful arm-triangle submission win.
The win was Moroz’s first submission win in seven years and helped her regain her footing in the flyweight division.
This story first published at UFC.com.
