Colby Covington vs. Jorge Masvidal to headline UFC 272 on March 5

One of MMA’s biggest rivalries finally will be settled inside the cage.

Former UFC title challengers Colby Covington and Jorge Masvidal are set to headline UFC 272 on March 5 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The bout will be contested at welterweight over five rounds.

A person with knowledge of the situation confirmed the news to MMA Junkie on Tuesday following an initial report by UFC broadcast partner ESPN, which cited the promotion’s chief legal officer, Hunter Campbell.

It’s no secret that Covington (16-3 MMA, 11-3 UFC) and Masvidal (35-15 MMA, 12-8 UFC) have bad blood between them. The two used to be best friends and teammates at American Top Team, but they began to drift apart as both fighters rose to title contention. Covington, now at MMA Masters after leaving ATT, has taken many shots at Masvidal in the past two years, and Masvidal hasn’t been shy in firing back.

Covington is coming off a championship loss to Kamaru Usman at UFC 268 last November. He lost the fight by unanimous decision. It was Covington’s second title fight loss to Usman as he had been stopped in late 2019 by “The Nigerian Nightmare.” Covington is 8-2 in his past 10 trips to the octagon.

Meanwhile, Masvidal is also coming off a loss against the champ. Masvidal last fought in April at UFC 261, losing to Usman by knockout. It also was his second defeat to Usman. Prior to the pair of losses to Usman, Masvidal was on a three-fight winning streak, which included the “BMF” title win over Nate Diaz and the 2019 flying-knee “Knockout of the Year” over Ben Askren.

Below is the updated lineup for UFC 272:

• Colby Covington vs. Jorge Masvidal
• Edson Barboza vs. Bryce Mitchell
• Jessica Eye vs. Manon Fiorot
• Mariya Agapova vs. Maryna Moroz
• Dustin Jacoby vs. Michal Oleksiejczuk
• Tim Elliott vs. Tagir Ulanbekov
• Marina Rodriguez vs. Yan Xiaonan
• Kevin Holland vs. Alex Oliveira