Bitterness remains, but Colby Covington shows out in dominant UFC 272 win over Jorge Masvidal

LAS VEGAS — The war of words continued long after the grudge match between former friends Colby Covington and Jorge Masvidal in the main event of UFC 272 had ended Saturday.

Covington came triumphantly to the post-fight news conference after a one-sided unanimous decision in which his wrestling stifled Masvidal’s offense and called himself “The F***ing King of Miami.”

Masvidal, noting Covington’s post-fight call-out of lightweight Dustin Poirier, said, “He’s a b****. But the b**** can wrestle.”

It’s not just wrestling. No matter what you think of him — UFC president Dana White said, “He’s an asshole,” of his No. 1-ranked welterweight — Covington is one of the best fighters in the world.

He’s got elite wrestling, amazing stamina and his striking is a continuous source of surprise.

Covington landed more than twice as many total strikes (218 of 338) as Masvidal (90 of 166) and took him down six times in a five-round fight. Covington was crowing afterward, and mocked Masvidal at every opportunity.

“The beauty of what I did tonight was, it was no luck,” Covington said. “It wasn’t a fluke knockout. No one can say, ‘Oh, he got a lucky knockout.’ What would it have been if we kept going? I dominated that guy from start to finish.”

That he did. A glum Masvidal said, “I wrestled like s***,” but there are few in the UFC who can wrestle with Covington. Masvidal needed to find a way to stay in the center of the Octagon and at a distance where he could use his striking to his advantage.

Time and again, Covington would drag him into the cage and eventually down to the mat.

A few days before the fight, Masvidal signed a contract extension that he said made him one of the five highest-paid fighters in the UFC. Covington mocked him for it afterward, saying he signed beforehand because if he’d have waited until after the fight, “He’d have no leverage.”

Covington also said he wants a new contract and to be paid more than Masvidal. He jabbed at Masvidal and said that half of Masvidal’s new earnings will go to his ex-wife.

Both fighters got great reactions from the crowd, though Masvidal may have had a few more than Covington. But he’s lost three in a row now and his BMF title fight win over Nate Diaz in 2019 is starting to look like a long time ago.

Covington even won some of the rare striking exchanges, which didn’t surprise White.

“I expected that,” White said of Covington’s success in the striking. “That’s Colby’s style. He makes you worry about the takedown and [then he punches]. He fought the exact fight I thought he would fight tonight.”

Covington was defiant, refusing to answer questions from several reporters and pulling out all of his one-liners. He called Masvidal “a backstabbing thief,” praised former President Trump, ripped musician Drake, referred to his former team as “American Trash Team,” and began referring to reigning welterweight champion Kamaru Usman as “Marty Fakenewsman.”

Covington also revealed that he was the source of a rumor that was making the rounds on Saturday that somehow found its way onto the television broadcast. There were rumors that he had a bad knee and had taken a cortisone shot.

At the news conference, he said there was nothing wrong with the knee and claimed he planted the story. He said he told someone to see “if he were Team Jorge or Team Colby.”

His antics disgust some and tickle the fancy of others, but there is one undeniable truth: Colby Covington is one of the world’s great fighters and there are few fighters in his division who can deal with him.

He’s 34, but said he’s still on the upswing. And though he has split bitterly with Masvidal and American Top Team, he said he still vividly recalls their last session together.

“The last time we trained, I left him unconscious, with a high kick, fake takedown,” Covington said. “The guy’s irrelevant. I don’t want to hear any more about him. He was lightning in a bottle. He should never have been here in the first place.”

Where Covington goes next remains to be seen, but there aren’t a lot of great options at 170, which may be why he called out Poirier, his ex-teammate. White didn’t seem enthused by it, but there is no denying Covington’s skills.

“No matter how much you hate him,” White said, “he keeps winning fights.”