UFC 272 results: Colby Covington takes dominant decision over Jorge Masvidal

Colby Covington won a hard fought decision over Jorge Masvidal in the UFC 272 PPV main event.

UFC 272 is officially in the books, and the night was capped off with the promotion’s #1 ranked welterweight, Colby Covington, taking a unanimous decision over the BMF, Jorge Masvidal. Masvidal did make Colby take a knee at one point in the fourth frame, but Covington gritted through it and quickly got back into the fight. The pressure and grappling of Covington proved to be too much for Masvidal, but he also delivered some quality strikes on the feet. With him being ranked #1 but owning two fresh losses to the champ Kamaru Usman, is Covington morphing into a welterweight Joseph Benavidez?

Masvidal struck first with a stinging leg kick that caused Covington to change stances. An accidental eye poke from Covington went untouched, and resulted in the fight moving into the clinch. From there, Covington worked his game. He stayed attached to Masvidal, keeping his former friend defensive and making him carry his weight. Jorge did eventually work back to his feet, so that the fighters could exchange strikes for the final moments of the round.

The second act started with the ref giving Covington a hard warning about eye pokes. The fight resumed and Masvidal went back to kicking at the leg, and then started attacking the body with them as well. Covington shot in and pressed his foe against the fence, and had to eat a couple of elbows to achieve the position. He then lost the position because of a knee to Masvidal’s cup. The fighters went back and forth on the feet, with Colby pumping his jab and Masvidal staying with his leg attacks. Covington also came up with a big punch at the end of the round that prompted a smile from Jorge.

Covington pressured in the third round behind his strikes, and was backing up Masvidal. His first takedown attempt was denied, but his second one got the fight to the floor. Several elbows smashed through the guard of Jorge, who was resigned to being flat on his back. Masvidal finally scrambled up with just seconds to go, and landed a set of right hands before the bell.

Masvidal went back to his leg kicks to start the fourth act, but Covington was determined to close the distance. Colby pressed Jorge against the cage, and broke free to land some meaningful punches, and was actually overwhelming Masvidal with strikes in a few instances. Masvidal responded by wobbling Covington with a right hand and making him take a knee, but wasn’t able to capitalize on the moment.

Covington quickly realized a takedown in the final round, quickly putting Masvidal on the defensive. Jorge was working to get up, but Colby was grinding on him and refused to give him any space. Covington maintained position, to the crowd’s dismay, keeping Masvidal neutralized. Colby worked for an RNC, and sprinkled in strikes as he finished the match in the dominant position. Security quickly stormed the cage to make sure that a post-fight fight didn’t break out.

Colby Covington def. Jorge Masvidal by unanimous decision (50-44, 50-45, 49-46): Welterweight