UFC 272: Covington vs. Masvidal was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on March 5, 2022, at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area, United States.[2]

UFC 272: Covington vs. Masvidal
The poster for UFC 272: Covington vs. Masvidal
PromotionUltimate Fighting Championship
DateMarch 5, 2022 (2022-03-05)
VenueT-Mobile Arena
CityParadise, Nevada, United States
Attendance19,425[1]
Total gate$6,760,000[1]
Event chronology
UFC Fight Night: Makhachev vs. Green UFC 272: Covington vs. Masvidal UFC Fight Night: Santos vs. Ankalaev

Background

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A UFC Featherweight Championship trilogy bout between current champion Alexander Volkanovski and former champion Max Holloway was originally expected to headline the event.[3] The pairing first met at UFC 245, where Volkanovski defeated Holloway via unanimous decision to capture the title.[4] Their second meeting took place at UFC 251, with Volkanovski successfully defending the title via split decision (a result which was met with controversy by fans, fellow fighters, and media outlets alike).[5][6] However, two days after the trilogy announcement, Holloway withdrew due to an aggravated previous injury.[7] He was replaced by former title challenger Chan Sung Jung and the bout was moved to UFC 273 on April 9.[8]

A UFC Bantamweight Championship title unification rematch between current champion Aljamain Sterling and former champion/current interim title holder Petr Yan was expected to take place at this event.[3] The pairing previously met at UFC 259, with Sterling winning the title by disqualification (intentional illegal knee strike) in the fourth round, becoming the first fighter to win a UFC title by disqualification.[9] The rematch was initially expected to take place at UFC 267, however Sterling withdrew from the contest due to lingering neck issues and an interim title bout between Yan and Cory Sandhagen was set.[10] The UFC then opted to move the pairing from this event to UFC 273.[11]

After the postponement of the title fights, a welterweight bout between former interim UFC Welterweight Champion Colby Covington and former title challenger Jorge Masvidal headlined the event.[12]

A heavyweight bout between Greg Hardy and Serghei Spivac was originally scheduled for UFC 270, but it was moved to this event after Hardy suffered a finger injury.[13]

A five round lightweight bout between former UFC Lightweight Champion Rafael dos Anjos and Rafael Fiziev was originally scheduled to headline UFC Fight Night: Walker vs. Hill, but it was postponed to this event due to visa issues with Fiziev.[14] However, Fiziev was forced to withdraw due to testing positive for COVID-19.[15] He was replaced by Renato Moicano on just 4 days notice at a catchweight of 160 pounds.[16]

A lightweight bout between Devonte Smith and Erick Gonzalez was scheduled for the event.[17] However, Gonzalez was forced to withdraw from the event due to a foot injury.[18] He was replaced by Ľudovít Klein.[19]

Former UFC Women's Flyweight Championship challenger Jessica Eye was expected to face Manon Fiorot in a women's flyweight bout at the event.[20] However, a week before the event, Eye withdrew due to injury and the bout was cancelled.[21]

During the event's broadcast, former UFC Lightweight Champion Khabib Nurmagomedov was announced as the next "modern wing" UFC Hall of Fame inductee.[22]

Results

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Main card
Weight class Method Round Time Notes
Welterweight Colby Covington def. Jorge Masvidal Decision (unanimous) (49–46, 50–44, 50–45) 5 5:00
Catchweight (160 lb) Rafael dos Anjos def. Renato Moicano Decision (unanimous) (49–45, 49–44, 50–44) 5 5:00
Featherweight Bryce Mitchell def. Edson Barboza Decision (unanimous) (30–25, 30–26, 30–27) 3 5:00
Welterweight Kevin Holland def. Alex Oliveira TKO (elbows) 2 0:38
Heavyweight Serghei Spivac def. Greg Hardy TKO (punches) 1 2:16
Preliminary card (ESPN [a] / ESPN+)
Lightweight Jalin Turner def. Jamie Mullarkey TKO (punches) 2 0:46
Women's Strawweight Marina Rodriguez def. Yan Xiaonan Decision (split) (29–28, 28–29, 29–28) 3 5:00
Light Heavyweight Nicolae Negumereanu def. Kennedy Nzechukwu Decision (split) (27–29, 29–27, 29–27) 3 5:00 [b]
Women's Flyweight Maryna Moroz def. Mariya Agapova Submission (arm-triangle choke) 2 3:27
Early preliminary card (ESPN+ / UFC Fight Pass)
Featherweight Umar Nurmagomedov def. Brian Kelleher Submission (rear-naked choke) 1 3:15
Flyweight Tim Elliott def. Tagir Ulanbekov Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28) 3 5:00
Lightweight Ľudovít Klein def. Devonte Smith Decision (split) (28–29, 29–28, 30–27) 3 5:00
Light Heavyweight Dustin Jacoby def. Michał Oleksiejczuk Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28) 3 5:00
  1. ^ The ESPN broadcast only aired the Rodriguez vs Yan and Turner vs Mullarkey bouts due to a college basketball game that aired on ESPN during the Moroz vs Agapova and Negumereanu vs Nzechukwu bouts.
  2. ^ Nzechukwu was deducted 1 point in Round 3 due to repeated eye pokes.

[23]

Bonus awards

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The following fighters received $50,000 bonuses.[24]

  • Fight of the Night: Colby Covington vs. Jorge Masvidal
  • Performance of the Night: Kevin Holland and Maryna Moroz

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Mike Bohn (2022-03-06). "UFC 272 post-event facts: Rafael dos Anjos joins exclusive 20-win club". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2022-03-06.
  2. ^ Brett Okamoto (2022-01-05). "UFC 272 to feature Alexander Volkanovski-Max Holloway, Aljamain Sterling-Petr Yan fights". espn.com. Retrieved 2022-01-05.
  3. ^ a b Damon Martin (2022-01-05). "Alexander Volkanovski vs. Max Holloway 3, Aljamain Sterling vs. Petr Yan 2 booked for UFC 272". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2022-01-06.
  4. ^ Danny Segura (2019-12-15). "UFC 245 results: Alexander Volkanovski dethrones Max Holloway, captures UFC featherweight belt". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2022-01-05.
  5. ^ Damon Martin (2020-07-12). "UFC 251 results: Alexander Volkanovski retains title with razor-close split decision over Max Holloway". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2022-01-05.
  6. ^ Staff (2020-07-12). "Twitter reacts to Volkanovski-Holloway 2 decision". espnhonolulu.com. Retrieved 2022-01-06.
  7. ^ Staff (2022-01-07). "Max Holloway injury takes him out of UFC 272 trilogy fight vs. Alexander Volkanovski". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2022-01-07.
  8. ^ Shakiel Mahjouri and Brent Brookhouse (2022-01-11). "UFC 273 fight card: Alexander Volkanovski vs. Korean Zombie, Aljamain Sterling vs. Petr Yan 2 set for April". cbssports.com. Retrieved 2022-01-11.
  9. ^ Dan Doherty (2021-03-07). "UFC 259 results: Aljamain Sterling earns 135-pound title after Petr Yan's illegal knee leads to DQ". cbssports.com. Retrieved 2022-01-05.
  10. ^ Mike Heck and Damon Martin (2021-09-25). "Aljamain Sterling out of UFC 267 title fight vs. Petr Yan". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2021-01-05.
  11. ^ Mike Heck (2021-01-11). "Alexander Volkanovski vs. The Korean Zombie, Aljamain Sterling vs. Petr Yan 2 set to headline UFC 273". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2021-01-11.
  12. ^ Danny Segura (2022-01-11). "Colby Covington vs. Jorge Masvidal to headline UFC 272 on March 5". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2022-01-11.
  13. ^ Marcel Dorff (2022-01-19). "Hardy vs. Spivac moves to UFC 272 in Las Vegas". eurosport.nl. Retrieved 2022-01-19. (in Dutch)
  14. ^ Jesse Holland (2022-02-11). "Rafael dos Anjos vs Rafael Fiziev off UFC Vegas 48, rebooked for UFC 272 co-main event". mmamania.com. Retrieved 2022-02-11.
  15. ^ Jed Meshew (2022-02-28). "Rafael Fiziev out of UFC 272 fight against Rafael dos Anjos due to COVID-19". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2022-02-28.
  16. ^ Farah Hannoun and Nolan King (2022-03-01). "Renato Moicano agrees to face Rafael dos Anjos in five-round catchweight bout at UFC 272". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2022-03-01.
  17. ^ Marcel Dorff (2022-01-12). "Lightweight fighters Smith and Gonzales added to UFC 272". eurosport.nl. Retrieved 2022-02-25. (in Dutch)
  18. ^ Jay Anderson (2022-02-24). "Erick Gonzalez says he's out of UFC 272 fight against Devonte Smith". cagesidepress.com. Retrieved 2022-02-25.
  19. ^ Marcel Dorff (2022-02-25). "Klein replaces Gonzalez for Smith in 8 days". eurosport.nl. Retrieved 2022-02-25. (in Dutch)
  20. ^ Mike Heck (2021-12-06). "Jessica Eye vs. Manon Fiorot targeted for March 5 UFC event". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2022-02-25.
  21. ^ Mike Heck (2022-02-25). "Jessica Eye announces injury, withdrawal from UFC 272 bout with Manon Fiorot". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2022-02-25.
  22. ^ Mike Bohn (2022-03-05). "Khabib Nurmagomedov headlines 2022 UFC Hall of Fame class". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2022-03-06.
  23. ^ "UFC 272: Covington vs. Masvidal". Ultimate Fighting Championship. Retrieved 2021-01-13.
  24. ^ Staff (2022-03-06). "UFC 272 bonuses: Emotional Maryna Moroz one of four $50,000 winners". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2022-03-06.