Colby Covington has described former opponent and arch-rival, Jorge Masvidal as a “broken man” following his loss to Gilbert Burns at UFC 287 and subsequent retirement last weekend – claiming that he, in fact, was the one to send the Floridian into retirement following their UFC 272 clash last year.
Covington, the current #2 ranked welterweight contender and former interim division titleholder, has yet to return to the Octagon since headlining UFC 272 back in March of last year against Masvidal, securing a one-sided unanimous decision victory over the Miami native in their long-awaited grudge match.
As for Masvidal, the #11 ranked welterweight contender slumped to his fourth consecutive Octagon blemish at UFC 278 over the course of the weekend, dropping another unanimous decision loss, this time opposite Brazilian contender, Burns.
Following his judging loss on home soil, Masvidal announced his intentions to retire from mixed martial arts and active competition with immediate effect, ending a storied tenure in the sport.
Colby Covington claims he retired Jorge Masvidal last year
Reacting to his enemy’s retirement from the sport, Covington claims that he, in fact, was the fighter to send him packing last year rather than Burns on Saturday night, describing Masvidal as a “broken man”.
“If I wanted to give my honest take, he (Jorge Masvidal) was retired after I beat him,” Colby Covington told Submission Radio following UFC 287. “He’s a broken man. There’s a reason that he came out and did what he did to me in the streets like a little clown. There’s no pride in that guy. He just didn’t want to have to live the rest of his life knowing that he retired off of getting his ass beat by me. …But, guys, I’ll be honest, I retired Jorge ‘Street Judas’ last year in 2022 in T-Mobile Arena.”
“… The guy’s a felon, he’s a criminal, he’s a coward,” Colby Covington explained. “He’s not a real man. If he was a real man, he wouldn’t have done what he did to me. So, I got nothing else to say to him.
As for Clovis native, Covington, the two-time undisputed welterweight title challenger is expected to challenge for division spoils against current champion, Leon Edwards at UFC 291 in July in an earmarked pay-per-view event in London, England.