UFC president Dana White believes the imminent fight between Jorge Masvidal and Colby Covington is the biggest grudge match in the company’s history. Masvidal and Covington, 37 and 34 respectively, were once close friends and training partners at American Top Team in Florida. The two Americans even lived together for a period. But the pair gradually became rivals and will look to settle their differences in the five-round welterweight main event of UFC 272 this Saturday in Las Vegas. “I don’t know if there’s ever been a bigger grudge match than this,” White told Barstool Sports ahead of the card. “When you look at how deep it is with this these two, these are guys that were actually friends, actually really lived together, cornered each other, trained together. I don’t know if there’s ever been a scenario like this before.” White acknowledged that the UFC has promoted several heated grudge matches over the years, but suspects Masvidal vs Covington beats all others, including a sizzling 2012 light heavyweight fight between estranged training partners Jon Jones and Rashad Evans. “Rashad and Jon Jones – they were friends, but it’s not like they were really friends,” he said. “They trained together. [Masvidal vs Covington] is the real deal.” Masvidal has never made any secret of his disdain for Covington, and that has not changed in the thick of fight week. “I didn’t get into this business to make my friends,” Masvidal told ESPN recently. “I got into this business to provide for me, my kids, my mom and my dad. If I make friends, awesome. But I got into this business to break faces and collect big paycheques and be the best fighter in the world. “I pray to God that, on the way to pulling me off [Covington], the referee slips on a banana peel and I land a couple shots in there that will really send him off into another world and make sure he comes back a better person.” Covington has been no less virulent ahead of the fight. “I feel great about fighting him,” he told ESPN. “He’s [Masvidal] been running his mouth, reckless, saying a lot of things to the media, but you can only say so much. There’s only so much talking you can do. There’s only going to be one man walking, and that’s going to be me.” ONE Championship’s Thanh Le compares himself to UFC’s Ngannou, Adesanya “He’s not going to be able to run his mouth any more after Saturday,” Covington added. “He knows deep down inside how this fight’s going to go.” When Masvidal (35-15) steps into the cage at UFC 272, he will be looking to rebound from back-to-back losses to reigning welterweight champion Kamaru Usman. Those losses were preceded by a trio of stoppage wins over Nate Diaz, Ben Askren, and Darren Till. Covington (16-3) also has two losses to Usman in the rear-view mirror – a fifth-round TKO in 2019 and a decision late last year – but they were interspersed by a stoppage win over former champion Tyron Woodley.