Dan Hardy is an excellent analyst and he has taken a look at the upcoming grudge match between Colby Covington and Jorge Masvidal at UFC 272. This appears to be another fight that people see as a grappler vs striker matchup.
The main event of UFC 272 has Colby Covington and his excellent cardio taking on Jorge Masvidal and his elite boxing. Dan Hardy expects the cardio to be the difference-maker in this fight.
“What I expect is for Covington to drown him for five rounds or less,” Hardy told Submission Radio. “I think he’s going to really struggle to finish Masvidal, but I do think he’s going to be able to control him for good periods of time on the floor, and that comes down to Masvidal’s conditioning. I know as a lightweight, he was able to scramble and scramble.
“But as a welterweight, he’s a bit more calculated with when he expends that energy. He’s wise with it, but there are points where he does find himself stuck on the floor. … What’s most likely to happen is that Covington is gonna maul him and take a unanimous decision, probably 3-4 rounds to 1.”
Don't get Dan Hardy wrong though, he expects Colby Covington to win at UFC 272, but that's not who he's going for. Hardy finds himself hoping Jorge Masvidal, the underdog, gets the job done.
“But I always root for the underdog,” Hardy said. “I think this is a bit of pattern for me: When the fans and the betting lines identify who the underdog is, I start to then try and make arguments for the underdog to win. One thing we’ve learned about Masvidal is that you can’t really bank on anything in his fights. …
“I except Covington to win, but I will be pleasantly surprised if I see Masvidal do something and turn the fight around. As a fan, I’m pulling for Masvidal, but I know what he’s up against, and I know how difficult Covington is gonna be to deal with.”
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