Former training partners turned bitter rivals Jorge Masvidal and Colby Covington will settle their rivalry in the main event of UFC 272.
The fight will take place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on March 5 with the bantamweight title fight between undisputed champion Aljamain Sterling and interim titleholder Petr Yan moved to UFC 273 in April.
Masvidal recently called for a clash with Covington on Twitter and claimed it was the fourth time his rival turned down the fight.
"They're going to call you and hopefully the fourth time is a charm you f****** coward. Don’t p**** out now," he wrote
The fight also marks the first non-title main event to headline a pay-per-view that will not feature Conor McGregor or Nate Diaz since 2015.
Masvidal and Covington were once roommates and best friends, but Covington claims things turned sour after he started edging closer to a welterweight title shot.
Both men have since fought twice for the 170-pound title, but have come up short on both occasions.
Masvidal lost a decision pound-for-pound No.1 Kamaru Usman in 2020 and was knocked out by him in their rematch at UFC 261 last April.
Covington was stopped by Usman at UFC 245 in 2019 and was outpointed in their second meeting at UFC 268 last November.
'Chaos' had called to coach the upcoming season of The Ultimate Fighter alongside Masvidal, with the pair fighting at the end of it.
But regardless of how it came about, Covington just wanted to be locked in a cage with his rival.
Who wins at UFC 272, Masvidal or Covington? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below
"I just want to get locked in a cage with this clown. I just want to be locked in a cage with Jorge 'Street Judas' Masvidal more than I want anything in the world," Covington told Submission Radio.
"That dude needs to be for all the things he said about me, but if he doesn't show up that's ok too, he loses all that street cred and respect in the fighting community.
"He's not a real fighter, that guy's a fragile little b****. He's a clown, a fake and a Judas. He turned his back on me for no reason and this is all his fault."
"I'm definitely taking at least five years off of his life. This beef is more personal and more hatred than I've ever had for anything in my entire life."
Masvidal is without a win since winning the 'BMF' title against Nate Diaz in 2019.
