ABU DHABI — It just might be the most anticipated UFC fight of 2021 that hasn’t actually been announced yet: [autotag]Jorge Masvidal[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Colby Covington[/autotag].
It’s a real grudge match between two former American Top Team teammates who fell out, with Masvidal (35-14 MMA, 14-8 UFC) staying with his gym and Covington moving on. It’s a matchup of charismatic and controversial stars who, whether you love or hate them, can get you to tune in. And it’s a matchup of top-level welterweights, with both competitors getting title shots in the past year-and-a-half, and Covington (16-2 MMA, 11-2 UFC) once holding an interim belt.
One man who had a front-row seat for both fighters’ gym work is Mike Brown, the former WEC featherweight champion turned one of the game’s great coaches at ATT. And while he knows Covington is going to be a tough foe, he believes they gleaned enough info to make preparing for the all-but-announced bout to be easier than it otherwise might be.
“You train like you always do, except now you know exactly what you need to do to train for, you know?” Brown told MMA Junkie during UFC 257 fight week. “You know what the guy does, so it’s a little easier to fine tune the training. You know exactly what his strengths and weakness is. You’re not guessing. I guess it’s very black and white. You know exactly what you need to do, and I think it will be a little easier to train for, to be honest.”
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In the meantime, as someone who was once grinding away and trying to get a break as a young fighter right around the same time Masvidal was, Brown’s glad to see that Masvidal seems to be playing his cards well as he looks to maximize his time in the biggest spotlight.
“He’s finally in a place where he can make big money, and it should be something very big,” Brown said. “It should be a title fight. It should be one of the biggest names in the sport. They should sell pay-per-views. It’s not a co-main event on a Fight Night. This should be a pay-per-view headliner against another equally big draw, and I think Jorge is probably the second-biggest draw in the sport probably to Conor (McGregor), honestly. And hopefully he is rewarded for what he’s done and what he’s created and is compensated appropriately.
“Jorge is in a place he has carved his own path and put himself in position more deserved than anybody. This guy’s like a 50-fight veteran, fought everybody in the world for so long and done it all, I think it will be a very big fight. In his mind, I think he’s right. He wants somebody that will be very big, very entertaining, and where he gets the most money out of it.”
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