They were once inseparable best friends, but Colby Covington and Jorge Masvidal will now settle their bitter rivalry at UFC 272 in one of the biggest grudge matches in MMA history.

In one of the few non-title bouts to headline a pay-per-view event, both Covington and Masvidal enter their fight on the back of losses to welterweight champion Kamaru Usman.

They will look to set up a trilogy fight against the pound-for-pound No.1 Usman with a win, but more importantly will look to draw a line under two years of personal attacks and heated exchanges.

Covington, a notorious trash-talker, hasn't always referred to his foe as 'Street Judas' as the pair were on very different terms when 'Chaos' signed for the UFC in 2014.

A 23-year-old Covington had just left college after reaching the prestigious NCAA Division one in wrestling, the highest level of intercollegiate sports, and was subsequently recruited by the American Top Team (ATT) MMA gym in Florida.

Colby Covington and Jorge Masival used to live together (

Image:

@btsportufc/Twitter)

Masvidal was almost 30 fights deep into his professional career when Covington first showed up to ATT. 'Gamebred' had already fought for over 10 promotions and was one of the best lightweights in Strikeforce.

The self-declared 'King of Miami' was infamously known around the city because of his backyard brawling YouTube fights, one of which saw him knock out a 200lb protege of legendary street fighter Kimbo Slice.

Covington had a great start to his MMA career, going 5-0 before being signed to the UFC. His gym partner Masvidal would soon become his roommate as the pair moved in together, trained with each other and became best friends.

Masvidal had moved up to welterweight in 2015 but struggled to break into the top of the division due to several close decision losses; Covington, on the other hand, was thriving.

A one-sided win against Demian Maia, followed by a career-saving post-fight interview, set up an interim title fight for Covington which he would win with Masvidal in his corner, but their friendship would soon take a turn for the worse.

Masvidal alleged that Covington didn't pay five per cent of his reported $350,000 purse for winning the interim belt to longtime coach Paulinho Hernandez, as the trainer received $5,000 instead of $17,500.

Covington has since denied the allegations, stating he was paid just half of his reported purse for the fight. Masvidal even claimed he paid the outstanding $12,500 to coach Hernandez out of his own pocket.

Paulinho Hernandez (middle) is the striking coach at American Top Team

The pay dispute caused an unfixable rift between the best friends and they were kicked out of the gym because of their rivalry. After things cooled down Masvidal was later invited back, but Covington had other plans.

"I am a member of Colby Covington incorporated. Everything, this is my team now" he said after a row with several teammates saw him leave the gym.

But it wouldn't take long for Covington to ditch his solo venture. He joined the MMA Masters gym and in came coach Daniel Valverde, an accomplished judo and Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion.

Valverde believes a clash of egos was the reason for Covington's falling out with Masvidal.

"Most fighters have a big ego and it's hard to control the ego," he said. "When you have too many stars training together, there's only one place for a champion in the division."

Valverde said he has been paid sufficiently ever since taking Covington under his wing two years ago, so he struggles to believe the allegations that his fighter didn't pay Hernandez after winning the interim belt.

"I don't know if Masvidal was bothered by Colby growing and beating guys that he couldn't beat, but I know Colby always takes care of his coach," he continued.

Who wins at UFC 272 - Colby Covington or Jorge Masvidal? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below

"I have nothing to say about payments, nothing bad. He takes care of his coaches very well and pays the gym very well, so I really don't believe in that."

Covington's side of the story to the fall-out has nothing to do with gym fees, as he claims his best friend Masvidal became jealous after seeing him win a UFC belt.

He thinks that as soon as he started achieving more than Masvidal, his former best friend turned his back on him and began to become hostile in their friendship.

But Masvidal's teammate Cody Law, who is also a Division one wrestler like Covington, hasn't bought into the "jealousy" reason for the fallout and thinks Masvidal's attitude towards Covington didn't change after he won the belt.

"I don't think he was jealous. I highly doubt, in any way, that was the truth of the situation," he said.

"It's the most exciting matchup in a long time given the backstory, I hope [Jorge] knocks him out in the first round. He doesn't want to lose any fight, but he definitely doesn't want to lose this one."

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