In the main event of UFC 272, a welterweight grudge match headlined the card as Colby Covington took on Jorge Masvidal in a highly-anticipated fight.
Covington entered the fight coming off a decision loss to Kamaru Usman back in November for the welterweight belt. Masvidal, meanwhile, was coming off back-to-back losses to Usman, the most recent being a nasty KO.
In the end, it was Covington who dominated the fight from bell to bell as he used his wrestling and grappling to control the fight. However, ‘Gamebred’ did rock Covington in the fourth but couldn’t capitalize on it. Now, after UFC 272, here is what I think should be next for both fighters.
Colby Covington
Colby Covington has proven he is the second-best welterweight in the world as he has been the closest to defeating Kamaru Usman. However, given he is 0-2 to the champ this win still puts him in a weird position as he won’t get another title shot for the time being.
After the fight, ‘Chaos’ called out Dustin Poirier, but ‘The Diamond’ has said he isn’t interested in that scrap and is focused on trying to get the Nate Diaz fight. With that, he will need to fight a contender and the winner of Vicente Luque vs. Belal Muhammad 2 on April 16 makes sense. If he were to win that fight, perhaps he gets another crack at Usman’s welterweight strap.
Jorge Masvidal
Jorge Masvidal is now on a three-fight losing streak but still remains a big name in the sport so will still be involved in big fights for the promotion.
This was no doubt a tough loss for Masvidal to deal with as Covington controlled him the entire time and ‘Gamebred’ couldn’t get his offense going. He will still be ranked inside the top-10 and even though he has lost three fights in a row, they were to Usman and Covington.
It’s likely Masvidal will take a bit of time off and return late summer or in the fall. When he returns, a rematch against Stephen Thompson makes some sense. ‘Wonderboy’ and Masvidal fought Thompson at UFC 217 which ‘Wonderboy’ won by decision but both have struggled as of late. He’s also a big enough name which makes sense to be a co-main event of a pay-per-view between two strikers who have been controlled by wrestlers in their past couple of fights.
What do you think should be next for Colby Covington and Jorge Masvidal after UFC 272?