Jorge Masvidal vs. Colby Covington “the fight we want,” says Dana White

UFC President Dana White says the UFC is still keen to book a welterweight fight between top-5 contenders Jorge Masvidal and Colby Covington in 2021.

Covington and Masvidal, the No. 1 and 4-ranked welterweight contenders respectively, have been linked to a potential fight for months, but as of yet, the matchup has not come to fruition.

According to UFC President Dana White, however, the promotion is still working on the matchup, contrary to Covington’s recently claim that Masvidal turned down the fight because it didn’t favor him stylistically.

“I don’t think Masvidal said I don’t like that fight stylistically,” White said. “We’re working on that fight. It’s the fight we want, too, and hopefully we’ll get that done this year, too. We got nothing but big fights all this year so hopefully we can get a couple of these key ones buttoned up and done and start looking forward to them.”

Whenever Masvidal and Covington do end up colliding, it will undoubtedly be one of the biggest fights of the year. In addition to being two of the best welterweights on earth, the pair share arguably the best rivalry in MMA at present.

For many years, they were close friends and training partners at American Top Team. Gradually, however, the friendship began to fray to the point of downright animosity.

At this point, both men seem eager for the chance to settle their differences in the Octagon.

“I hope it’s happening,” Covington told Chael Sonnen in the latest edition of his podcast, You’re Welcome (via MMA Junkie). “Last I heard from Dana and the UFC, they said they were going to make it happen. I’ve been on it since Day 1, since I fought Tyron Woodley and ended his career and left him out on a stretcher. I agreed to fight Masvidal in September.

“You know, it’s clear who wants to fight,” Covington continued. “It’s clear who doesn’t want to fight. There’s probably a reason he doesn’t want to fight me. He’s experienced this before. This is the easiest paycheck of my life. This is free money. He’s not even as good as Tyron Woodley.”

Who do you think will win a potential fight between Colby Covington and Jorge Masvidal?