Colby Covington continues to burn his bridges at American Top Team.
The war of words between Colby Covington and Jorge Masvidal is one of the loudest we’ve had in MMA lately. Both men seem totally at home screaming obscenities at each other while desperately trying to dish dirt from their shared pasts.
Last night’s UFC 272 press conference was no different. The spectacle was barely audible at times with both man doing whatever they could to grab/hold the spotlight or rattle their opponent.
One of Covington’s more slanderous barbs was not aimed at Masvidal, but one of the men who would be cornering ‘Gamebred’ on Saturday night instead, well-respected American Top Team coach Mike Brown.
Covington’s charges against Brown, which came with no proof to back them up, included allegations that he used performance enhancing drugs during his fighting career.
“[Masvidal] brought that drug addict Mike Brown with him,” Covington said (ht sportskeeda). “The guy who did GHB [Gamma-hydroxybutyrate] before his fights. He fought Rani Yahya on GHB among all the other steroids he did in his career. You brought that addict with you, Jorge? Did you bring that druggie?”
Brown, who fought professionally between 2001 and 2013, has never tested positive for a banned substance.
Brown is most notable for winning the WEC featherweight title with a sensational first-round TKO over Urijah Faber in 2008. He defended the title against Leonard Garcia, and then Faber, before losing the belt to Jose Aldo in 2009.
After the UFC bought out WEC Brown made his Octagon debut in 2011, with a split decision loss to Diego Nunes. A few weeks later, at UFC: Fight for the Troops 2 at Fort Hood, TX, he lost a unanimous decision to Rani Yahya.
Brown then beat Nam Phan and Daniel Pineda. In 2013 he suffered a quick KO to Steven Siler. This was his last contest.
He has since become one of the more recognizable coaches at American Top Team and often corners that gym’s top talents. Brown has cornered Covington on multiple occasions, including when ‘Chaos’ beat Rafael dos Anjos to lift the interim UFC welterweight title at UFC 225 in 2018.
Covington was asked to leave ATT two years later.
Last time out, at UFC 268 in November, Covington was bested—for the second time in his career—by UFC welterweight champ Kamaru Usman. Covington has stated that, after facing Masvidal, he’s interested in fights with either Dustin Poirier (another ATT mainstay) or UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya.