UFC 272: Colby Covington beats Jorge Masvidal in grudge match

Former UFC interim welterweight champion Colby Covington claimed victory after a bitter battle with former friend Jorge Masvidal at UFC 272 in Las Vegas.

Covington, 34, and Masvidal, 37, faced off in the main event at the T-Mobile Arena in a five-round non-title fight, and it was Covington who proved victorious via unanimous decision after dominating his rival throughout the majority of the 25-minute contest.

The match-up was the culmination of a bitter war of words after their long-time friendship broke down and turned into a heated rivalry.

The pair were formerly close friends and training partners at South Florida gym American Top Team, and were almost inseparable during their early UFC careers.

But a row over Covington's alleged non-payment of Masvidal's long-time striking coach Paulino Hernandez saw the pair eventually thrown out of the gym as tensions became too much for gym owner Dan Lambert to manage.

As one of the gym's most senior fighters, Masvidal eventually returned, but Covington joined rival gym MMA Masters. The rivalry between the pair has simmered ever since.

That rivalry finally came to a head during Saturday night's clash, where, despite briefly being dropped by a huge Masvidal right hand in round four, Covington walked away with bragging rights after a bout dominated by his wrestling saw him awarded the verdict with scores of 49-46, 50-44 and 50-45.

After claiming victory in one grudge match, Covington immediately set his sights on another as he called out another former American Top Team fighter, former interim lightweight champion Dustin Poirier.

«I just took care of Miami street trash. Now it's time to take care of Louisiana swamp trash!» Covington said.

«Dustin Poirier, you said it was 'on sight'. Name