UFC 272: Colby Covington targets ‘personal beef’ with Dustin Poirier after Jorge Masvidal fight

Colby Covington and his old friend-turned mortal enemy, Jorge Masvidal, are finally set to lock horns this weekend (Sat., March 5, 2022) at UFC 272. With a win, Covington remains firmly at the top of the division as one of the very best at 170 pounds. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean the No. 1-ranked Welterweight contender is itching to get back to a shot at the title.

The lone losses for “Chaos’” since 2015 came in two of his last three outings with the belt on the line against current Welterweight kingpin, Kamaru Usman. For the champ, it looks like Leon Edwards will get his turn at attempting to avenge his past loss. But, Covington isn’t all too concerned with the outcome as another former teammate is on his mind.

LIVE! Watch UFC 288 PPV On ESPN+ Here!

BLOCKBUSTER BANTAMWEIGHT BATTLE! Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) returns to Newark, N.J., for the first time in more than three years on Sat., May 6, 2023, with a blockbuster Bantamweight collision inside Prudential Center that will see Aljamain Sterling attempt another successful title defense against returning two-division titleholder and former gold medal-winning Olympic wrestler, Henry Cejudo. In UFC 288’s last-minute pay-per-view (PPV) co-main event, former Welterweight title challenger, Gilbert Burns, locks horns with No. 4-seeded contender, Belal Muhammad, in a five-round, 170-pound No. 1 contender eliminator match.

Don’t miss a single second of EPIC face-punching action!

• STREAM UFC 288

“I could care less who wins [between Kamaru Usman and Leon Edwards],” Covington said during UFC 272 media day (h/t MMA Fighting). “I’m just worried about my business on Saturday night and handling another personal beef with Dustin Poirier next. That fight needs to happen. He’s talked too reckless in the media.”

Former UFC interim Lightweight titleholder, Dustin Poirier, and Covington used to train together at American Top Team (ATT) in South Florida before Covington parted ways with the gym. Never shy to speak his mind, Covington has made several comments about Poirier since with some rebuttals from “The Diamond” being fired back.

“Now he said, ‘It’s on sight,’” Covington said. “The last time he was talking to you clickbait merchants, he was saying, ‘Oh, I’m not going to fight Colby in the Octagon, where there’s finances on the line. I’m going to fight him in the streets and we’re both going to go to jail.’ It’s funny. It’s very ironic because he talks about being a family guy, a good guy, but he wants to fight me in the streets and potentially go away from his family.

“Dustin Poirier has all these stipulations to fight me,” he continued. “I just have one stipulation. My one stipulation is he lets the world watch and enjoy themselves.”

Poirier last fought in Dec. 2021 when challenging for Charles Oliveira’s Lightweight crown. He would suffer a third round rear-naked choke submission defeat (watch highlights) and now ponders his next move. The Louisiana native has expressed interest in rebooking a clash with Nate Diaz in Covington’s division of Welterweight, but no serious traction has been made.

Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 272 fight card right here, starting with the early ESPN+ “Prelims” matches online, which are scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. ET, then the remaining undercard balance on ESPN/ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET, before the PPV main card start time at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+ PPV.

To check out the latest and greatest UFC 272: “Covington vs. Masvidal” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here.