UFC 272 has a fully stacked card that many bettors are excited for. There are a ton of interesting fights all over the card with a headline bout that features two former friends going at each other in the Octagon. Let’s start there as we examine the three biggest bouts.
Colby Covington vs. Jorge Masvidal
The biggest story of UFC 272 is going to be the matchup between Colby Covington and Jorge Masvidal. These two opponents were once incredibly close friends and now they are considered two of the top fighters in their division. They even lived together and supported each other up until a few years ago when Covington picked up the interim welterweight title and started to create his own brand. Covington just lost to Kamaru Usman back in UFC 268, which was his second shortcoming versus the champ. Covington is a grinder that doesn’t back down from anyone.
As for Jorge Masvidal, he just suffered a second loss in a row to Usman as well. The first was a fight that went the distance and the second saw Masvidal get knocked out cold in the second round. He’s a big underdog here, though, as many MMA fans question his ground game. If Covington can take him down, he might make quick work of him.
Serghei Spivac vs. Greg Hardy
The main card kicks off in this fight with the heavyweight division. Serghei Spivac is hoping to get back into the win column after his three-fight winning streak was snapped following a tough loss to Tom Aspinall in September. As for his opponent here, he takes on Greg Hardy. The former NFL star has fought nine times since entering into the UFC and is coming off a couple of losses. He fell to Marcin Tybura towards the end of the 2020 and was then knocked out by Tai Tuivasa in what was his only fight of 2021.
Each of these heavyweight fighters have been so close to getting into the Top 15 in their division. However, neither has accomplished the feat. A win could go a long way to finally getting over the hump.
Edson Barboza vs. Bryce Mitchell
Edson Barboza will be taking on Bryce Mitchell in the main card, making for a fight between two Top 15 featherweight opponents. Barboza has struggled lately, winning only four of his last 10 fights. However, he has a certain drive and competitiveness that keeps him close in any bout. Meanwhile, Bryce Mitchell was considered a bright star in 2020. He had taken down both Charles Rosa and Andre Fili in back-to-back fights to improve up to 5-0 on his UFC career but has stalled since. He got into the Top 15 at that point and hasn’t fought since that match with Fili.
His grappling skills are outstanding and could give him an edge but ring rust could be a factor since he’s been off for so long. This will be a classic match of striker versus a grappler here between two guys hoping to push themselves up to further in the class rankings with a nice performance.