Team-mates turned arch rivals Jorge Masvidal and Colby Covington will settle their differences in the Octagon in March after the pair verbally agreed to meet at UFC 272 in Las Vegas.

Masvidal, 37, and Covington, 33, used to live together while they were training partners at American Top Team but the pair fell out in 2018 and 'Chaos' left the gym in 2020. 

The welterweight rivals have long traded insults on social media and now ESPN reports that UFC chief Hunter Campbell has confirmed that a grudge match between the duo is nearly finalised. 

MMA reporter Ariel Helwani has confirmed that the welterweight pair have verbally agreed to meet in the Octagon in March.  

Masvidal has not fought since his defeat by welterweight champion Kamaru Usman at UFC 261 last April - his first loss by knockout in nearly 10 years.

Meanwhile, Covington is also looking to bounce back having lost to the welterweight king in his last fight in New York. Before that, the American had beaten Tyron Woodley in September 2020. 

'He better f***ing show up,' Covington is reported to have told ESPN via text message in reference to the match-up.

Masvidal was scheduled to fight Britain's Leon Edwards at UFC 269 in December, but the UFC veteran was forced to withdraw from the contest after suffering an undisclosed injury, although Covington claimed it was due to 'broken ribs'.

'I'll tell you the truth of what happened with Jorge Masvidal for real. I still have people at his gym that still love me, and I'm the people's champ for a reason,' Covington claimed.

'So, I get the insider scoop on everything. So, that fragile dude, Street Judas Jorge Masvidal, he broke his ribs. He fractured his ribs last Saturday in training, and yeah, he's fragile and he had to pull out of the fight.

'It's too bad that people still love me over at his gym more than they even love him.'

When asked about Covington leaving ATT, Masvidal said: 'Guess who's still here? Guess who's still here?

'The truth will shine, my brother. I'll let you ask [coach] Dan Lambert [why Covington is no longer at ATT], but that dude was never part of this team.

'At the end of the day, he didn't feel safe in here. I wonder why.'

Masvidal v Covington will not be for a title, but are expected to headline the PPV card in March. 

Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway were due to headline the Las Vegas show but the Hawaiian was forced to pull out due to an injury. Featherweight champion Volkanovski is due to face Chan Sung Jung at UFC 273.