Jorge Masvidal has come forward to give his side as to why a fight between him and Colby Covington did not come to fruition.
There are many things that MMA fans will simply never agree on. But following Colby Covington’s victory over Tyron Woodley last September, there was one thing that nearly everyone found themselves on the same page about: Jorge Masvidal vs. Colby Covington was the fight to make. More importantly, UFC President Dana White as well as one half of the would-be participants, Colby Covington, felt the same way.
White expressed that a bout between Covington and Masvidal was being worked on, and Covington has made it no secret how badly he wants to settle the feud with his former best friend. When the fight fell apart, Covington was just as vocal, branding Masvidal as a coward who did not like the stylistic matchup between the two.
All the while, Masvidal has remained mum on the topic, waiting patiently on the sidelines to make his next move.
Jorge Masvidal Breaks Silence On Covington Fight Falling Apart
In an interview with ESPN released Wednesday, Masvidal was asked why a fight between him and Covington was never finalized. “Gamebred” was swift to give his response.
“Because Colby’s a bitch,” Masvidal said matter-of-factly. “They offered him good money.”
Immediately after Masvidal put the blame on Covington for the fight falling apart, he then disclosed that his former buddy wasn’t really on his radar to begin with.
“The Colby deal was we already knew we had the Usman fight,” Masvidal said. “They already told me, ‘Hey, you have the Usman fight.’ So why am I gonna fight the second-place guy that got his jaw broken, left running out of the ring, didn’t talk for months on Twitter because he got his jaw broken? Why don’t I go fight the guy that broke his jaw?
“Because I’ve already been beating the crap out of Colby for God knows how long. I’m gonna beat the crap out of him, too, before my career is done. But I’m gonna fight the biggest and the best fights possible, then I’ll go down to these JV motherfuckers.”
It’s unclear what precise time frame Masvidal is referring to when he states that he was told he had the Usman fight or who exactly “they” is. Based on previous reports, talks of an Usman/Masvidal rematch did not begin until after Usman defeated Gilbert Burns at UFC 258 in February. This conflicts with Dana White’s comments dating back to last fall that the UFC were interested in making a Masvidal/Covington bout.
During the interview, Masvidal did state that any such remarks from White was just the UFC boss throwing things out there, thus implying that there was never an actual official offer made. He further stated that if he and Covington ended up coaching The Ultimate Fighter, which was rumored to be in the works, he “for sure” would have ended up going to prison due to his inability to remain nonviolent in such close quarters with someone he genuinely despises so much.
As he stated in the interview, though, Masvidal has left the door open to fighting Covington down the road. In the meantime, his focus is squarely on capturing the UFC welterweight title at UFC 261.
What are your thoughts on Jorge Masvidal’s side of why his fight with Colby Covington didn’t happen?
