Pre-fight
A clash of two brothers that trained together, were close friends and teammates and now have spilled each other’s blood within the octagon.
There was a lot of Masvidal “GameBred” support pre-fight, his honest, rather humble and genuine attitude, even during the press conference gained support of many of the masses, musician and performer Drake included amongst those supporters.
On the other hand, Colby “Chaos” has dug his nails deep into a darker, more aggressive persona, choosing to make his on-screen personality as evil and dangerous as possible. Making enemies with friends, coaches and ex-trainers alike, but none of that could stop the wrecking ball energy “Chaos” brought to the ring.
So much so that even Dana White cursed Colby with a choiced word at the post fight press conference after the match despite also calling him a very talented fighter.
Round 1
Masvidal promoted the match by claiming knee real estate on Colby’s face. Covington swiftly dodged the exchange and proceeded to drag down Jorge “GameBred” Masvidal to the cage side where he began grinding out the stamina of the 37 year old, leaving him visibly breathless.
Colby’s nefarious tactics got him his first warning for an eye poke. Referee Herb Dean called it out and gave Jorge time to re-adjust before restarting the fight.
Following that Covington repeatedly managed to score points with takedowns and managed to take back-control and worked Masvidal into multiple potentially match-ending chokes.
However, Masvidal also showed skill in his takedown defense, pulling out of almost each choke and creating distance between him and Colby despite the consistent pounding.
Round 2
Possibly to break from the pressure, an illegal low knee by “Chaos” caught Jorge badly, giving Colby his second warning of the match.
However this was one of Masvidals stronger rounds landing both kicks and elbows on Covington that slowed his pace down significantly.
Round 3
With round three underway Colby maintained his high pressure, wrestling based, style to weaken and drain his old training partner. He showed he was in much better shape and cardio than Masvidal, repeatedly taking advantage of the quickly depreciating willpower of Jorge.
Colby then proceeded to attempt another takedown and triangle choke but failed to conclusively lock it in with the bell sounding at the end of the round, breaking them off before he could submit Masvidal.
Round 4
Round four showed Colby’s striking prowess but also potentially the only chance Masvidal had to finish the match in his favor.
Colby threw a flurry of accurate yet powerful strikes on his rival yet for the first time in the match Masvidal began to make a return into the fight, striking him hard across the jaw and sending “Chaos” to its knees.
He broke Colby’s momentum almost completely but his lack of stamina began to catch up with him and without a significant follow up Covington made it safely to his corner with bell. This was one of two match-altering strikes that potentially had Colby spinning to the canvas.
Round 5
Closing up in round five Colby had more than enough fuel left in his tank going in for another takedown, out of his fifteen attempts throughout the match he managed to bring Jorge down at least nine times. Showing how masterful a wrestler he is and following his clenches up with flurries that Jorge only barely managed to defend himself from.
“GameBred” was significantly worn out by the end of the round.
The decision following the end of the match was unanimously in favor of Colby “Chaos” Covington (49-46, 50-45, 50-44) and he more than deserved it after the destructive performance he showed up with.
Post-Fight
No matter how you feel about the two ex-friends Covington displayed prowess and amazing cardio throughout the match.
Dana White went on to say in the press conference that Covington is the top contender for the welterweight title with Kamaru Usman and that he really earned his keep no matter how brash his personality is.
Whereas, Covington made it clear who he wanted to see in the ring in his octagon interview with Joe Rogan, calling out Dustin Poirier and ominously saying “you’re next”.
