Colby Covington is a man not short of enemies among the UFC ranks.
The welterweight star’s rise to the top of the 170-pound division can be attributed to his brash, no holds barred, antagonistic persona, in which the mantra ‘all publicity is good publicity’ would be befitting of the 32-year-old.
Covington regularly expresses his support for Donald Trump and dons a ‘Keep America Great’ hat. After his recent win over Tyron Woodley at UFC Fight Night in Las Vegas, he turned on ‘spineless coward’ LeBron James, spouting a disregard for ‘woke athletes’.
Jorge Masvidal (right) and Colby Covington (left) are friends turned enemies in the UFC
The 32-year-old is a man with no shortage of enemies among the UFC’s welterweight ranks
The welterweight’s brash, antagonistic persona has rubbed many up the wrong way
There is no doubt that Covington rubs people up the wrong way, with fans regularly tuning in to his bouts in the hope they can see the welterweight villain suffer a humiliating defeat.
The 32-year-old suffered defeat to champion Kamaru Usman last year, but Covington disputed Marc Goddard’s decision to end the bout in the fifth round. What is needed, then, is a comprehensive defeat that ends Covington’s pursuit of UFC gold.
And fans have put their faith in Jorge Masvidal to silence Covington once and for all. ‘Gamebred’ (also known as Street Jesus) has emerged as one of the most popular faces in the sport, becoming a PPV star after big wins over Ben Askren and Nate Diaz.
UFC fans regularly tune into his bouts in the hope that the villainous star is defeated
If the classic hero vs. villain narrative isn’t strong enough to attract you to the prospect of Masvidal vs. Covington, then it’s best to mention that these two were once best friends, but now despise each other.
The pair found their way to the top of the UFC ranks in very different circumstances. Covington entered mixed martial arts after flourishing as a college wrestling star, while Masvidal grew up fighting in the backyards of Miami alongside Kimbo Slice.
Covington and Masvidal’s paths crossed at American Top Team, the leading MMA gym that has developed the likes of Amanda Nunes, Dustin Poirier and Yoel Romero.
As welterweights, the pair regularly trained together under the tutelage of Dan Lambert. Covington revealed that they would motivate each other in training by taunting one another about future pay days.
And there is hope that Covington’s former ‘best friend’ Jorge Masvidal will silence him
‘We were pushing each other in the gym. We’d yell in the gym, ‘Hey, who’s gonna be the first fighter to get a million-dollar fight,’ this and that,’ he told Submission Radio. ‘We were competing to push each other to these great limits.’
While Covington and Masvidal were content to share the path to the top of the welterweight division for the time being, it was only natural that the best friends would face a crossroads.
Masvidal was earning a reputation as a fan-favourite, with his fearlessness and knockout power appealing to the UFC fan base. Covington, though, was not getting the same sort of recognition as his team-mate.
Masvidal and Covington developed together at American Top Team under Dan Lambert
Covington said the pair pushed each other in every single training session together
While training sessions were competitive, Covington and Masvidal had a close bond
And so Chaos opted for a change of tact. The post-fight interview in the octagon can sometimes be just as important as the fight itself, with athletes regularly taking their moment in the spotlight to make their case for the biggest fights.
October 28 2017 saw Covington step out of the packed welterweight division and announce himself as the man to beat.
The 32-year-old earned an impressive win over veteran Demian Maia in his hometown of Sao Paulo, Brazil, and launched an explosive post-fight tirade that instantly put a target on his back among welterweights.
‘Brazil, you’re a dump!’ Covington said. ‘All you filthy animals suck. I’ve got one thing to say: [former champion] Tyron Woodley, I’m coming for you. If you don’t answer the front door, I’m going to knock it in and I’m going to take what’s mine, that welterweight belt!’
But Covington’s win over Demian Maia changed the course of the pair’s friendship
Both Covington and Masvidal present conflicting accounts of why their friendship turned sour, but both have said that it was the Maia fight that saw their relationship take a turn for the worst.
Chaos claims that Masvidal was overwhelmed by jealous rage, and could not handle the fact that his team-mate was getting the publicity he craved.
‘He’s the type of guy that when you are doing something for him, he will use you, Covington told Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show. ‘As long as you are doing better than him and you are not helping him out anymore, then he doesn’t care about you.
‘And that’s exactly what happened because when he got beat up by Demian Maia and I went in there and destroyed him (Maia) in his home country, that is when our relationship started to get a different.
‘He started acting different toward me as a competitor. Now I’m making more money than him, banging hotter chicks than him and doing better in life than him. He’s just a jealous little b****.’
Covington says Masvidal was jealous of his newfound fame and popularity among fans
Masvidal, however, claims Covington upset him after refusing to pay a coach they both have
Gamebred, however, says they fell out after Covington refused to pay his coach.
‘He ripped off my coach, that was his coach. We were with him until his [interim] title fight. After he won the title, he owed him a certain amount of money, didn’t pay him,’ he told the Dan LeBatard Show in September 2019.
‘I said if you don’t pay him I’m going to f*** you up. My coach got in between it, since then I ain’t talked to the dude.’
For a friendship that seemed so strong to turn so sour so quickly would unsurprisingly come as a shock for Masvidal, but the 35-year-old is adamant he will make Covington pay for the public abuse he receives.
‘It is what it is. All these words they do have consequences because this guy used to sleep on my couch, used to eat off me cause I was the one with the sponsors. He was just still relatively an amateur and I was helping this guy out.
Covington launched a foul-mouthed tirade on Masvidal, saying he’s ‘banged hotter chicks’
Masvidal (C) says it hurts that Covington (right) is disrespecting him for social media clicks
‘It hurts that he would do that in a way just for a like on Facebook, just for a retweet on Twitter, he’s doing that, to get you and me talking about him.
‘He’s mad because people don’t care to see him fight,’ he continued. ‘They want to see him lose. That’s what they tune into.’
Covington denies the claim that he did not pay his coach, saying Masvidal is ‘clutching at straws’ before adding: ‘He’s never won one second of any type of rounds we’ve ever trained together; and he knows that deep down inside.’
And so Covington’s win over Woodley puts him well in the mix for a shot at the title. Usman is set to face Gilbert Burns next, at UFC 256, and so a rematch is not on the table just yet.
Calls for Masvidal to face Covington have intensified since Chaos’ win over Tyron Woodley
The 32-year-old called out his former training partner after his win on Saturday night
The winner would surely have a shot at the victor of Kamaru Usman vs. Gilbert Burns
Masvidal wants a shot at redemption against Usman, too, after losing his short-notice fight with the champion back in July. A shootout between the pair for a fight with the winner of Usman – Burns seems the most sensible route. Covington, for what it’s worth, is all for it.
‘Where’s Jorge Masvidal at?’ he said after his recent win. ‘He needs to come see me for all the talking he’s done. Come see if he can walk the walk.
‘I talk the talk and I walk the walk. I want to see Jorge Masvidal in that octagon. I want the best friends turned enemy fight with ‘Street Judas’ Jorge Masvidal.
UFC chief Dana White said he is open to the prospect of Masvidal taking on Covington
‘He used to talk at the old gym, “I’m going to beat your ass, I’m going to do this, I’m going to do that.” OK. Let’s see it.’
UFC chief Dana White is open to the idea of Masvidal – Covington. After Chaos’ win on Saturday, he said: ‘Maybe he fights Masvidal. We’ll see if Masvidal wants that fight.’
A fight between the pair would certainly win the approval of the UFC masses, and for Masvidal and Covington, meeting in the octagon will be about much more than a claim at the welterweight title. It will be personal.