When Colby Covington and Jorge Masvidal look back on their careers, Saturday night might just be the defining moment.
UFC 272 plays host to one of the biggest grudge matches in the organisation’s history, and there have been a few.
Of course, Covington’s schtick is well known, fans are aware of the persona he has enhanced to demand attention even if it is usually negative.
Colby Covington (left) and Jorge Masvidal have gone from friends to fierce rivals
Covington and Masvidal face each other at UFC 272 having both lost to Kamaru Usman
But the animosity between ‘Chaos’ and his former team-mate Masvidal is genuine and laced with real venom.
Their friends-turned-enemies story is well told but more information comes to light all the time about the fall-out that has made their fight must-see TV.
The dispute is alleged to have stemmed from a refusal by Covington to pay the American Top Team coach what was promised.
Masvidal explained further on ESPN that he attempted to resolve the situation with Covington face-to-face before it erupted publicly.
He said: ‘I come into the gym, random practice, and I see him there — and he kind of tries to ignore me. And I was like, ‘Hey bro, after practice, we’ll talk.’ He’s like, ‘Yeah, yeah, for sure, bro. Cool, cool. We’re talking.’ It’s pretty amicable, it’s not that bad.
‘He’s like, ‘What do you want to talk about?’ I’m like, ‘I want to talk about you being a b***h and bringing up my name in interviews when Dan [Lambert] has said not to.
Covington built a reputation for tough talking that will be damaged with another defeat
’I still haven’t gone public with him [at the time], I’m just trying to address him man-to-man. Like, let’s not go that route, bro. And if we are, first let’s just put the gloves on, beat the sh*t each out of each other, and then get it out of the system, you know?
‘As soon as I turn my back and a couple people come with him, the show starts. [Covington yells back,] ‘I’ll f*cking kill you, bro! Don’t ever talk to me like that!’
‘Literally, I said my piece, turned around, started walking this way. This guy is f***ing shouting out at the mouth while we’re like 10 feet away. I turn around, I come to confront him — it’s too late. The whole gym’s involved because he made such a show, right?
‘So I tell him, there’s this place, this sushi place where we used to go to right here, and I tell him, ‘I’m going to go to the sushi place, bro. Dinner’s on me. Let’s go. I’ll be waiting for you.’ So I get in my car, go to the place — he’s not showing up. I get on Instagram, ‘Hey bro, if you want to collect your dinner, I’m over here.’ Blah, blah, blah.
‘He never showed up,’ Masvidal continued. So I’ve always known, deep down inside, he’s a coward, man. And I just can’t wait for March 5 to expose it.’
The ill-will is palpable, just as it was in the toxic build-up to Conor McGregor’s fight with Khabib Nurmagomedov.
Masvidal is a fan favourite and will still attract plenty of eyes to the sport if he loses
The 37-year-old is unpredictable but has an entertaining style that fans love
They cannot stand each other and depending on how the fight plays out, it would be no surprise to see a rematch or trilogy further down the line.
Both Covington and Masvidal have tasted defeat twice at the hands of welterweight champion and pound-for-pound No 1 Kamaru Usman.
But as fighters, entertainers and pay-per-view stars, there’s no question that a defeat would hurt Covington more.
Masvidal has enjoyed a late career resurgence but his appeal has never been in chasing perfection. He is a brilliant striker but that same raw aggression that saw him shoot to fame fighting in backyards on YouTube remains his selling point.
Like Nate Diaz, it doesn’t matter too much when Masvidal loses, he always provides value, talking the talk, looking the part and boasting the capacity to deliver viral moments.
The friends-turned-enemies finally settle their grudge at UFC 272 after previously forming a close bond as training partners
Of course a defeat by Colby would tarnish his aura but not nearly as much as the other way round.
Covington intertwined his identity with Donald Trump to an extraordinary degree. So when the former president lost the US election and became deplatformed, he was stuck.
The whole ‘patriotic’ zeal element of the 34-year-old is still there but it has been dampened.
There’s also the fact that Covington played all the cards he could to fight Usman again. He’s not the ‘anyone, anytime, anywhere’ character that Masvidal is. Wins and losses matter more in how he is perceived.
That’s why this Saturday could be so much more damaging to him. If he is beaten without any room for excuses, any of the usual hyperbole will seem hollow in future.
Covington will feel pressure to perform given the massive build-up to the fight
Even if Masvidal is unable to back up his bark with a bite, he will always have offers on the table. You could argue that at 37, Masvidal’s best years are behind him and Covington would have more time to bounce back from defeat.
But Masvidal will never be a figther remembered for the number of wins racked up. He’ll be the street fighter who disposed of Darren Till so ruthlessly, who knocked out Ben Askren with a flying knee in five seconds, the guy with his own Mezcal drink who boarded a flight wearing a dressing gown on short notice to fight the champion.
A highlight-reel KO of Covington would top all that, but if he is outwrestled for five rounds, people will simply shrug and move on.
If it goes the other way, his legend will grow and Covington’s reputation will be scarred.
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