Bellator middleweight and American Top Team fighter Johnny Eblen gave MMA News the inside scoop regarding Jorge Masvidal and Colby Covington.
Eblen is set to face former Bellator title challenger John Salter at Bellator 276 next weekend. He's spent plenty of time around Covington and Masvidal at ATT and knows their story from the inside out.
Masvidal and Covington will square off in the UFC 272 headliner this weekend. It is one of the most highly-anticipated fights in recent memory and one of the biggest non-title grudge matches in UFC history.
Eblen was a teammate of Covington before Covington's split from the gym. He continues to work with Masvidal at ATT as one of his main sparring partners.
During an exclusive interview with MMA News, Eblen gave his thoughts on the matchup between Covington and Masvidal.
"I think Jorge is going to put it on the motherf**ker, to be honest," Eblen said of Masvidal. "I sparred a lot with that dude this camp, he's on point and I can't wait to watch him break his jaw. And I can't wait to watch it on national television."
Johnny Eblen Explains The Difference Between Jorge Masvidal And Colby Covington
Eblen went on to detail his personal experience with Covington at ATT and why he's glad he's still a teammate of Masvidal.
"When I kinda came into the gym, he was just transitioning into that whole gimmick thing, and he was kinda doing it at the gym as well," Eblen said of Covington. "I never really got close to him, never really trained with him too much. There were some instances where I trained with him, but outside of that didn't get close to him. I don't know, he just seems like a clown to me now. I'm definitely on the side of Jorge. Jorge is my homie and I've been training with that dude since I've been at the gym and I kind of gravitated closer to him instead of Colby, and I'm glad I did."
While Covington and Masvidal have had their fair share of verbal banter leading up to the fight, Eblen says their intentions are completely different.
"He's more respectful to people," Eblen said of Masvidal. "He doesn't talk s**t to talk s**t. When he's talking s**t, there's a reason for it. You're on his bad side. Colby's talking s**t to get likes and to be relevant. He was calling out teammates and s**t, which is a big no-no. Causing tension at the gym that wasn't supposed to be there."
The storyline of Masvidal and Covington's friendship and time together at ATT has been well documented. Eblen and the rest of ATT don't plan on burying the hatchet with Covington anytime soon, regardless of what happens at UFC 272.
What are your thoughts on our Johnny Eblen interview about Jorge Masvidal and Colby Covington?