Colby Covington v Jorge Masvidal: Why UFC 272 main event is deeply personal
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Covington v Masvidal is the first UFC numbered non-title main event since Dustin Poirier beat Conor McGregor in July
There is no title at stake in the UFC 272 main event, and it is not a number one contender match to determine who will fight Kamaru Usman for welterweight gold.
Yet Saturday's bout between Colby Covington and Jorge Masvidal in Las Vegas is one of the most anticipated in UFC history as the pair finally settle their bitter feud.
The Americans seriously dislike each other but for many years were best friends, lived together and were training partners at the gym.
Masvidal, 37, even claimed 34-year-old Covington to be "family" in an Instagram post in 2015, external.
So what went wrong?
One broken relationship, two different accounts
Since Masvidal's UFC debut in 2013 and Covington's the following year, the pair have become two of the biggest stars in the promotion.
Such is their drawing power, Saturday's fight will be the first non-title planned main event in the UFC to not feature Conor McGregor or Nate Diaz since Anderson Silva fought Nick Diaz in 2015.
A big part of the appeal of Saturday's fight is the personal relationship between the two, which allegedly ended when they were training together at MMA gym American Top Team in 2018.
They have offered different explanations of what happened.
Masvidal accuses Covington of failing to pay his long-term friend and coach Paulino Hernandez, who was helping Covington prepare for his interim welterweight title win over Rafael dos Anjos at the time.
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"He betrayed my coach and I knew since then I'm going to hurt this guy," Masvidal told MMA Junkie, external.
But according to Covington, the relationship with Masvidal changed after beating Demian Maia.
"The moment our friendship turned sour was 100% after the Demian Maia fight, because he had just lost to Maia - but I beat him and left him in a pool of his own blood in his home city," Covington told BBC Sport.
"He wasn't happy for my success. He was envious. The final straw was when I won the title [against Dos Anjos] and he just turned himself off - but it didn't matter.
"I knew he was a rat that night. I tried to call him after that, and he stopped my calls."
Trash-talking is common in promoting mixed martial arts fights, but this feels deeply personal.
When asked what he dislikes most about Masvidal, Covington did not hold back.
"He's turned his back on his wife. He's turned his back on his kids. So, Saturday night is going to be a long and painful night for Jorge Masvidal," he said.
Masvidal says the nature of Covington's personal attacks are unforgivable.
He said: "For as long as we live, it will always be a problem because he talked about my religion and he mentioned my kids."
'He wouldn't dare shake my hand'
The UFC deployed security personal at Thursday's media conference to help separate Covington and Masvidal
Both men need a win, with defeat all but ending any opportunity of fighting for the 170lbs championship.
Masvidal is coming off two consecutive losses to welterweight champion Usman and has not won a fight since beating Nate Diaz in November 2019.
Covington is also coming off a defeat by the champion, beaten by a unanimous decision in December.
Both fighters have promised violence, but history has shown rivals can shake hands following a fight, despite the animosity.
Covington however, emphatically denies this will be the case.
"No, I won't shake his hand. I'll point and laugh in his face," Covington told BBC Sport.
"I want nothing to do with this coward. The guy is a thief. He's stolen from me. All he does is lie, and on Saturday night all of his lies will be exposed."
Masvidal reflects Covington's stance.
"He would never dare [to shake my hand]," Masvidal told reporters at Wednesday's UFC 272 media day, external.
"He wouldn't get close to me. He wouldn't put himself at a chance where I can end him again, especially because he's talked about my kids."
There is no belt on the line in Las Vegas, but there is something perhaps equally as important in Masvidal and Covington's eyes - pride.
Whoever wins on Saturday night will have bragging rights for years to come.
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