Jorge Masvidal and Colby Covington spent most of the week slinging ruthless insults toward each other. Now, the verbal battle will give way to a real fight when the recent welterweight title challengers meet on Saturday in the main event of UFC 272 in Las Vegas. Their matchup headlines the marquee from T-Mobile Arena, and the main UFC 272 fight card is scheduled for 10 p.m. ET. The top-ranked Covington and sixth-ranked Masvidal are former teammates and training partners who saw their bond broken as each moved up the UFC rankings, resulting in a bitter feud that culminates in a five-round main event with the winner remaining in the title picture.
Covington is a -310 favorite (risk $310 to win $100), while Masvidal comes back at +255 in the latest Covington vs. Masvidal odds from Caesars Sportsbook In the co-main event, lightweight contenders square off as Rafael dos Anjos (-165) takes on Renato Moicano, who is a +145 underdog in the UFC 272 odds. Before making any UFC 272 picks of your own, make sure you check out the MMA predictions and betting advice from SportsLine analyst Kyle Marley.
Marley won the first-ever "ToutMaster" UFC betting contest sponsored by MMAOddsBreaker and appears regularly on multiple MMA betting and daily Fantasy shows. He watches every single fight for every professional MMA card and does extensive research before each event.
Over the past 36 months, $100 bettors who have followed Marley's picks are up more than $13,000. The accomplished MMA analyst has now connected on 48 of his last 78 UFC main event picks, a stretch that included a streak of five straight underdogs in 2020.
Marley kicked off the 2022 UFC season in January by telling SportsLine members to back Calvin Kattar (+200) against Giga Chikadze (-240) in the featherweight main event. Kattar's lopsided unanimous-decision victory gave Marley's followers another easy winner. Anyone who has followed him is way up. You can only see Marley's MMA picks at SportsLine.
UFC 272: Masvidal vs. Covington preview
Covington and Masvidal bring one of the more compelling storylines to a UFC main event in recent memory. They are former close friends and training partners at the revered American Top Team who went their separate ways on negative terms as their respective MMA careers evolved.
Covington (16-3), 34, was once told by UFC brass that his contract wouldn't be renewed because his wrestling-heavy style wasn't fan-friendly and his mundane personality wasn't helping matters. The California native changed both in short order, adding a respectable striking element to his game and a no-holds-barred disposition that saw him hurling cutting insults at anyone in his path.
This about-face didn't sit well with Masvidal (35-15), 37, a longtime fan favorite who experienced a late-career breakthrough with three highlight-reel knockouts in 2019 that ultimately landed him two title shots against champion Kamaru Usman.
Covington and Masvidal both came up short against Usman twice and their disdain for each other grew. They were both kicked out of American Top Team for violating the gym's code of ethics, and fighting each other was the most logical move for both combatants from business and career standpoints. You can only see who to back at UFC 272 at SportsLine.
Expert UFC 272 predictions
We'll reveal one of Marley's UFC 272 predictions here: He is siding with Kevin Holland (-300) to get his hand raised against Alex Oliveira (+250) in a battle of explosive welterweights.
Holland (21-7-1) became a breakout star of sorts when he went 5-0 at middleweight in 2020, repeatedly taking short notice fights and dominating them against talented fellow prospects. But the gregarious 29-year-old struggled against the division's elite, losing decisions to recent title challenger Marvin Vettori and veteran contender Derek Brunson while struggling with his takedown defense. His last fight ended in a no-contest because of an accidental head butt against Kyle Daukaus in October.
Holland is moving down a weight division to take on Oliveira (22-11-1), a seven-year UFC veteran who is noted for his action-packed brawls against some of the division's biggest names. The 34-year-old Brazilian is looking to snap a three-fight losing streak, during which he has been submitted twice.
"Holland's big weakness has been his takedown defense but, even if Oliveira takes him down, I don't think he can keep him there. Holland should be the bigger and better striker, and I think he has a lot of success on the feet," Marley told SportsLine.
How to make UFC 272 picks
Marley also has strong picks for Masvidal vs Covington and every other bout on the UFC 272 fight card. He's also backing a fighter who "will dominate in a striking match" and upset his opponent. Those expert MMA picks are only available at SportsLine.
Who wins Masvidal vs. Covington? And how exactly does each fight end? Visit SportsLine now to get detailed picks on every fight at UFC 272, all from the incomparable expert who's up more than $13,000 on MMA betting in the past 36 months, and find out.
UFC 272 odds, fight card
Colby Covington (-310) vs. Jorge Masvidal (+255)
Rafael dos Anjos (-165) vs. Renato Moicano (+145)
Bryce Mitchell (-150) vs. Edson Barboza (+130)
Kevin Holland (-300) vs. Alex Oliveira (+250)
Sergey Spivak (-210) vs. Greg Hardy (+180)
Marina Rodriguez (-280) vs. Xiaonan Yan (+240)
Mariya Agapova (-190) vs. Maryna Moroz (+170)
Jalin Turner (-145) vs. Jamie Mullarkey (+125)
Kennedy Nzechukwu (-140) vs. Nicolae Negumereanu (+120)
Tagir Ulanbekov (-240) vs. Tim Elliott (+200)
Dustin Jacoby (-190) vs. Michal Oleksiejczuk (+170)
Umar Nurmagomedov (-600) vs. Brian Kelleher (+450)
Devonte Smith (-200) vs. Ludovit Klein (+175)
