Friends turned rivals, Colby Covington (17-3) and Jorge Masvidal (35-16) have been wrapped up in bitter a feud for the past few years. The two UFC stars were once long-time friends and teammates who trained at American Top Team (ATT). Since then, their relationship has turned violent, both inside and outside of the octagon.
An altercation occurred 16 days after their grudge match at UFC 272, where Covington captured a unanimous decision win over Masvidal. According to TMZ Sports, a new audio clip reveals the frantic 911 call made by an off-duty police officer in March.
The officer urged dispatch to send multiple units after he spoke with Covington, who said that Masvidal “sucker punched” him outside of Miami’s Papi Steak restaurant.
“Can we send a bunch of, or a few units,” the officer told the dispatcher. “If you could just send units on a three, please.”
Covington alleges that Masvidal chipped his tooth and damaged his $90,000 Rolex watch. 48 hours later, Masvidal was arrested and later charged with aggravated battery and criminal mischief.
Covington And Masvidal Have History
The animosity between Covington and Masvidal has been ongoing for years. Things got personal between the former friends which led to a fallout. Tensions grew at ATT as Masvidal alleges that Covington wasn’t paying his coach, Paulino Hernandez, for his MMA services. Covington started to voice insults towards Masvidal regarding his personal life and fighting abilities.
In 2020, ATT owner Dan Lambert decided to cut ties with Covington and ban him from the gym. The fallout between the two fighters continued to escalate and they finally met at UFC 272. When the final horn sounded, it seemed that the rivalry was far from over.
The loss didn’t sit well with Masvidal. During an interview on the IMPAULSIVE podcast, the 37-year-old revealed his mindset after his recent setback.
“I was f**king irate,” Masvidal said. “I was upset, and I just like to be in isolation when I get like that. It’s better for me. Take a couple days to figure it out and if I have a problem and I can’t figure it out, f**k, then it’s a real problem. I could fail in something, but if I could find a way to fix it, then I can go back and address it again, then I can sleep with peace at night. So that’s what I did — five, six days in like that nowhere land, like, ‘F**k,’ and then I came up with a plan, and now I’m just gonna execute that plan.”
Masvidal reacted to the altercation by sharing a video to Twitter and tagging Covington.
“Call this the show your face challenge, you know, I’m from Dade County. You talk that s**t you better back it up. That’s how my city rolls, man.”
The Miami-born UFC star pleaded not guilty to the two felonies. He was ordered to stay 25 feet away from Covington and is scheduled to appear in court again next month.
Covington has yet to publicly acknowledge the incident.