The best way to avoid getting caught by USADA is to not get tested by USADA, a tactic that may have been employed by Conor McGregor, according to some of his harshest critics. Is retired welterweight Jorge Masvidal about to follow suit? Longtime rival Colby Covington seems to think so.
Jorge Masvidal retired from MMA after losing to Gilbert Burns at UFC 287 in Miami.
The longtime UFC welterweight once vowed to remain on the promotion’s roster until he captured the 170-pound title, but “Gamebred” came up short in both title bouts against then-champion Kamaru Usman and dropped follow-up fights to top contenders Colby Covington and the aforementioned Burns.
But was it all just a smokescreen to escape United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA)?
“I retired him last March when we fought here in T-Mobile Arena in 2022,” Covington told Inside Fighting. “He hasn’t been the same. I took away his confidence and his ego. He hasn’t been the same fighter and he just showed up for a paycheck his last fight. It’s a fake retirement. We all know people in the UFC that don’t retire. They’ll get out of the USADA pool, probably go do some steroids, and come back because he doesn’t know how to make money any other way but fighting. He’s not really retired, he’s not gonna be able to make money any other way. I guarantee you he’ll be back to get a paycheck.”
Covington defeated Masvidal at UFC 272 by way of unanimous decision.
That loss for “Gamebred” led to an idiotic attempt to serve street justice outside a Miami steakhouse. Instead, it led Masvidal to the police station for alleged assault and ultimately, Florida’s 11th Circuit Court. Regardless of his guilt or innocence, the entire ordeal is likely to cost Masvidal beaucoup bucks.
And perhaps an eventual return to UFC, according to “Chaos.”