New video of Jorge Masvidal being interviewed and arrested by police was uploaded earlier this week following his alleged street attack on fellow UFC welterweight Colby Covington, and today we have follow-up audio from “Chaos” presenting his side of the story.
Covington claims “Gamebred” launched a sneak attack in the streets of Miami as payback for pre-fight trash talk in front of their UFC 272 pay-per-view (PPV) headliner earlier this year in Las Vegas, which resulted in a chipped tooth and damaged Rolex watch.
“As soon as we’re about to walk across the street, I get side-swiped from the side,” Covington told police (transcribed by MMA Junkie). “Like, I get punched in the mouth real quick and kind of get dizzed [sic] up. I look up, and I see who it is. I can see in his eyes. It’s Jorge Masvidal. I can see his hair coming out of his hoodie, but he has a facemask on, a surgical facemask. But he’s saying, ‘You shouldn’t have f*cking talked about my kids, you shouldn’t have f*cking talked about my kids.’ So I was easily able to identify that’s his voice, that’s his eyes, that’s his hair, I know exactly who that is. Obviously I just fought this individual two weeks ago in Las Vegas, Nevada for the UFC on their pay-per-view. I beat him easily, so I know exactly what he looks like – his eyes, his hair and his voice.”
“I definitely suffered the injury to my tooth. He chipped my front tooth and knocked it out,” Covington continued. “I mean, the adrenaline is still kind of going right now, but he definitely rocked me. I saw stars a little bit, but I stayed on my feet. I was just trying to get to safety. That’s all I was concerned about. I’m still close with the family, and I still like the kids. I was being honest. I said the honest truth. I know it’s fight promotion and anything kind of goes when you’re trying to sell a fight, but I said the truth. I just said, ‘Hey, why don’t you talk to your kids? Why are you a deadbeat father?’”
Masvidal, 37, was arrested on March 23 and charged with one count of aggravated battery as well as one count of criminal mischief — both felonies — but later pleaded not guilty and will stand trial at some point in early 2023, barring any more delays from his attorney.
As of this writing, both fighters remain unbooked.