Jorge Masvidal claims that the origin of Colby Covington’s outspoken persona did not begin for the reasons his former teammate claims it did.
Prior to his 2017 fight against Demian Maia, Colby Covington was on a four-fight winning streak and had a UFC record of 7-1. Yet, according to Covington, that was not enough for the UFC. He claims the promotion said they were going to cut him despite the fact that he was winning because he was not entertaining enough.
As the story goes, it was this warning that led to the infamous “filthy animals” Octagon interview after he defeated Demian Maia in São Paulo, Brazil.
At the time of this promo, Covington and Masvidal were still teammates and close friends. And Masvidal claims to have direct knowledge that the reason for Covington’s promo had absolutely nothing to do with the UFC putting him on notice.
“The UFC didn’t say that. Colby said that,” Masvidal told ESPN in reference to the true origin of the “bad boy” side of Covington.
Masvidal went on to state that he, not unlike the Brazilian audience, was blindsided by the promo.
“I didn’t know that it was coming. I was like, ‘Man, I don’t know how I feel about that. Because for me to have to diss a whole nation to get my name out there, to me, is like—damn. Especially in Brazil. There’s a lot of kids suffering. There’s a lot of hungry people out there. You’re kinda going too far.”
Masvidal went on to say that he told Colby that what he said was wrong, and Covington did not take the criticism well.
Masvidal: Jędrzejczyk & Nunes Have Both Confronted Covington
During his fallout with American Top Team, Colby Covington did not only target Jorge Masvidal. He has also had words about Dustin Poirier and two female leaders of the gym: Joanna Jędrzejczyk and, allegedly, ex-teammate Amanda Nunes.
Masvidal questions why Covington would speak about Jędrzejczyk and Nunes at all if his aim was just to sell pay-per-views as he claims.
“Why’s he talking about Joanna? Why is he talking about Amanda? Is he gonna fight them? Is he gonna make pay-per-views with them? Because his whole thing is like, <whimpering> ‘UFC was gonna cut me. I need to sell pay-per-views,'” Masvidal said.
“You’re gonna sell pay-per-views when you fight Amanda? Why are you insulting women? Why are you bringing up women and things that you would do to them, this and that? Like, you’re a [MUTED] coward. And then he would see Amanda like, ‘Hey, Amanda, it’s just businesses.’ I’ve seen him myself do that. Same thing with Joanna. Same thing with numerous guys.”
According to Jędrzejczyk, Jorge Masvidal has all of American Top Team on his back when he faces Colby Covington this Saturday at UFC 272. The night will present Masvidal with an opportunity to avenge all the teammates Covington trashed in the past. And no matter what was the origin of Covington’s decision to begin behaving in such an abrasive manner, Masvidal will look to put an end to it once and for all in the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
What do you make of Jorge Masvidal’s remarks about Colby Covington’s persona?
