Tag: Colby Covington

White Thinks Covington Violated “Man Code” With Pre-UFC 272 Trash Talk

UFC President Dana White believes welterweight contender Colby Covington violated “man code” with his pre-fight trash talk leading up to UFC 272. This past weekend, Covington bounced back from his second loss to reigning 170-pound champion Kamaru Usman in a fairly similar fashion to how he did the first time—a dominant main event victory. While…

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UFC President Dana White believes welterweight contender Colby Covington violated “man code” with his pre-fight trash talk leading up to UFC 272.

This past weekend, Covington bounced back from his second loss to reigning 170-pound champion Kamaru Usman in a fairly similar fashion to how he did the first time—a dominant main event victory.

While 2020 saw him do so in a fight night headliner with Tyron Woodley, Saturday’s event saw him take his bitter rivalry with former teammate and friend Jorge Masvidal to the Octagon on the pay-per-view stage.

Across 25 minutes, “Chaos” implemented a grueling game plan that saw him tire out “Gamebred” with constant takedown attempts and an imposing wrestling game.

Following the win, Covington brought his usual antics to the microphone to call out another of his former teammates, Dustin Poirier.

With that callout, the event ended with the same trash-talking tone that had been evident all week.

While Covington’s random attacks on Brazil and the relatives of former opponent Usman showed he’s capable of creating controversy no matter the scenario, it was clear the build-up to UFC 272 would be more intense given the former interim champ’s history with Masvidal.

The lead-up to March 5 saw Covington make comments referring to Masvidal’s ex-wife and kids, something “Gamebred” criticized during a sit-down interview with Michael Bisping for BT Sport during fight week.

“He’s a coward. It just shows his character,” said Masvidal. “And then he’ll sit there after a fight and try and shake a hand, and tell them, ‘The UFC was gonna cut me so I had to talk about Brazil, I had to talk about your wife to drive up the pay-per-views,’ when in current history, (he’s had) some of the worst pay-per-view selling, period. He doesn’t sell pay-per-views.

“I’m happy to stick it to him in that regard, and show for the future generations to see that like, you don’t have to talk about people’s wives, religion, and kids to sell pay-per-views,” Masvidal added. “This is the only way people talk about him. You hardly ever hear people talking about Colby’s performance.”

While some love and cheer Covington’s persona on, Masvidal certainly isn’t alone in his assessment of the #1-ranked welterweight’s comments.

White Agrees With Masvidal’s Criticism

Having been a key figure at the top of the UFC tree since 2001, Dana White has seen his fair share of trash talk, controversial moments, and polarizing fighters. Despite that, even he thinks Covington often crosses the line.

During the UFC 272 post-fight press conference, the UFC president was asked whether he agrees, like Masvidal, that family is off-limits when it comes to pre-fight back and forth.

White responded by sharing the same sentiment as “Gamebred” did last week, suggesting Covington’s words had violated “man code.”

“I agree with that, too,” said White. “It’s called man code. You either have it or you don’t.”

It’s safe to say that no matter the opinion of many in the fanbase, Covington won’t be changing up his mindset anytime soon. That will especially be the case should he face long-time rival Poirier next.

While “The Diamond” has previously suggested the bout will never come to fruition, “Chaos” is clearly not giving up hope.

Do you agree with Dana White and Jorge Masvidal? Does some of Colby Covington’s trash talk cross the line?

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Jorge Masvidal Is “Surprised” He Didn’t Pounce On Covington In Round 4

Jorge Masvidal feels he missed a big opportunity to turn the tide in his grudge match against Colby Covington at UFC 272. Masvidal fell via a unanimous decision to his former friend turned rival Covington. It was a war that lived up to the hype, but Covington got the better of a majority of the…

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Jorge Masvidal feels he missed a big opportunity to turn the tide in his grudge match against Colby Covington at UFC 272.

Masvidal fell via a unanimous decision to his former friend turned rival Covington. It was a war that lived up to the hype, but Covington got the better of a majority of the exchanges on the feet and ground.

Masvidal nearly rallied in Round 4 after landing a massive right hook to Covington’s chin midway through the round. The punch dropped Covington immediately, and he appeared badly wobbled by the blow.

However, instead of pushing forward with pressure and attempting to finish the fight, Masvidal appeared hesitant to pull the trigger and follow up the big punch.

During his UFC 272 post-fight press conference, Masvidal talked about that moment and his regrets about not capitalizing on the opportunity.

“Shit, and then I didn’t pounce on him after I dropped him,” Masvidal lamented. “I wasn’t surprised that he bounced up. I was surprised that I didn’t go and take his head off. I thought he was gonna shoot immediately on me, so I just (was) thinking of the wrong shit instead of just go and take his head off. I was tired; he was tired and hurt.

“That was my chance right there. That was that window of five, six seconds to give it all I got, and make a sprint, and make a big change. Maybe I could’ve made that round 10-8, 10-7, who knows? But I didn’t take that opening.”

Masvidal has now lost three fights in a row, including back-to-back defeats to welterweight champion Kamaru Usman. His last win came against Nate Diaz in their BMF title matchup at UFC 244.

Masvidal signed a new deal with the UFC leading up to the fight with Covington and remains one of the promotion’s biggest stars. But he’ll need to get back in the win column in his next UFC outing to potentially earn a rematch against Covington down the line.

What were your thoughts on Colby Covington vs. Jorge Masvidal?

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Henry Cejudo Wants To Help Train Jorge Masvidal

Henry CejudoHenry Cejudo has offered his assistance to Jorge Masvidal, after ’Gamebred’ lost to Colby Covington Masvidal was outclassed by ‘Chaos’ everywhere the fight went at UFC 272. He was most notably at a disadvantage when the fight went down to the ground or on the cage. Covington’s pace and the way he was able to […]

Henry Cejudo

Henry Cejudo has offered his assistance to Jorge Masvidal, after ’Gamebred’ lost to Colby Covington

Masvidal was outclassed by ‘Chaos’ everywhere the fight went at UFC 272. He was most notably at a disadvantage when the fight went down to the ground or on the cage. Covington’s pace and the way he was able to use his strength while grappling to his advantage was just too much for ‘Street Jesus’. The fight wasn’t particularly close, and Covington was able to dominate all five rounds and coasted to a win.

Cejudo wants to train Masvidal so he can keep his distance around the outside of his opponent. This way he is not getting into firefights with other fighters who have good standup.

Henry Cejudo Wants to train Jorge Masvidal So he is more prepared against wrestlers like Covington in the future.

“What I would do with ‘Gamebred’ is, you would want to make him more of a technical fighter,” Cejudo said on The Triple C & Schmo Show. “Sometimes he gets into these flurries. He’s too smart. If I was to help him out it would be with his distance game. Keeping him at borders, like never allow anybody to get into the upper cutter-hook range and things of that nature, slipping through, going over the areas of concentration in wrestling, different little tricks because remember, I fought. Wrestling and MMA wrestling, it is different and people need to realize.” (H/T MMAJunkie)

Cejudo is one of the most decorated wrestlers in UFC history. He was able to capture both the bantamweight title and the flyweight title. He also was able to capture the gold medal at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. ‘Triple C’ wants to share his knowledge of the wrestling game with Masvidal, who Cejudo has a ton of respect for.

“There are things you can slip out of, and there’s things you really gotta defend, but you cannot get into these scramble positions like he did with Colby, which eventually exhausted him. I think I would help out ‘Gamebred’ a lot. I like ‘Gamebred’ even though we stopped talking due to our management firms with Ali [Abdelaziz] and Abraham [Kawa]. I’ve always had so much love for that dude. But my door will always be open for ‘Gamebred’ if he decides to rejuvenate his career. I believe I can help him tremendously.”

If Masvidal can get his wrestling and grappling in check, he would still be one of the most elite fighters in the game. Masvidal has fantastic stand up, but his grappling has been what has held him back in the past.

Would you like to see Henry Cejudo train Jorge Masvidal?

Colby Covington Demands To Be Paid More Than Jorge Masvidal Now

Colby Covington wants to get paid more than his rival Jorge Masvidal following their grudge match at UFC 272. Covington put on arguably one of the best performances of his career against Masvidal in the main event. He outstruck Masvidal on the feet statistically and smothered him on the ground to control the fight and…

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Colby Covington wants to get paid more than his rival Jorge Masvidal following their grudge match at UFC 272.

Covington put on arguably one of the best performances of his career against Masvidal in the main event. He outstruck Masvidal on the feet statistically and smothered him on the ground to control the fight and earn a unanimous decision victory.

Before the grudge match, Masvidal and the UFC came to terms on a new deal that made him among the highest-paid fighters in the promotion. Now, Covington wants a bigger piece of the pie following his recent performances inside the Octagon.

During his UFC 272 post-fight press conference, Covington stated that he feels he deserves more money from the promotion after his dominant win over Masvidal

“I’d love it, I think I deserve it,” Covington said. “Jorge just signed his contract right before the right because he knew he was going to get his ass whooped. He wasn’t going to have any leverage or power to negotiate after I whoop his ass on Monday morning, so I want to be paid more than Jorge Masvidal now. He likes to rub that in this face that ‘oh I make more money, and this and that’. First off, no he doesn’t because he pays half of it to Maritza his ex-wife. So he doesn’t make more money than me. But secondly, I need to make more money than Jorge. He’s a flash in the pan, two-pump chump like his ex-wife Maritza said.

Colby Covington
Colby Covington

“He’s 37 years old, I just turned 34 years old just before this fight. I’m in my prime, getting better every single day, and you haven’t seen the best of me. So I still got a long career ahead of me.”

Covington called out another former American Top Team teammate, Dustin Poirier following his win over Masvidal. Poirier has said in the past that he intends to move up to 170 pounds for his next fights, but it’s unclear if that’ll come to fruition.

Covington is expecting to return to the cage later this year and wants to be paid adequately for his efforts. This could potentially set up negotiations on a new deal between Covington and the UFC as soon as this week.

Who do you want to see Colby Covington fight next?

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Islam Makhachev Thinks Conor McGregor Is ‘Too Drunk’ To Return At Lightweight

Islam MakhachevIslam Makhachev believes Conor McGregor will have a tough time making the lightweight limit for his UFC return. In a recent interview with Brett Okamoto from ESPN MMA, the Dagestani was asked about Dana White mentioning that it’s very possible that Conor McGregor could fight for the lightweight title next. “I think this is fake” […]

Islam Makhachev

Islam Makhachev believes Conor McGregor will have a tough time making the lightweight limit for his UFC return.

In a recent interview with Brett Okamoto from ESPN MMA, the Dagestani was asked about Dana White mentioning that it’s very possible that Conor McGregor could fight for the lightweight title next.

“I think this is fake” said Makhachev.

“It’s going to be hard for him to make 155 (lightweight) because he is drunk all day. A lot of people are going to smash him in the division. He’s just going to fight with Nate Diaz or some old people, for some money. That’s it, he’s never going to be champion.” He added.

Conor McGregor has been vocal in the past few months about his desire to commit fully to his training and perhaps put away the bottle while doing so.

In response to McGregor’s tweets recently about challenging Makhachev for a future fight, the lightweight said with a smile.

“Yeah I saw that. Let’s go. Let’s do it.”

Makhachev has a feeling despite the recent callout from “Notorious”, the Irishman has no intention of getting into the octagon with him.

“He’s just playing a game; he’s never going to take this fight,” said Makhachev.

Islam believes that if they did get locked into the cage, the result might be worse than the time McGregor fought his mentor, Khabib Nurmagomedov, who is set to enter the UFC Hall of Fame in July.

“When he fought with Khabib, he was in good shape, not drunk. I think he have to retire, he has good money, but if he really wants to come back, lets do it. I will be happy to smash him.”

It’s unknown whether Conor McGregor will come back to fight at 155 or 170, but the possibilities are endless for the first-ever double champ.

Islam Makhachev still has eyes set on the lightweight title

Although Dana White may have recently said Islam Makhachev has to fight Beneil Dariush before he gets his shot at the title, the Russian still believes he still is next up. He said that he wanted to take the Rafael Dos Anjos fight at UFC 272 on short notice, but the UFC couldn’t fulfill his “small condition”. He did not reveal what the condition was, but he made sure it wasn’t about a reported $1,000,000 that some believed was his asking price.

The lightweight seems unfazed if he must go through Dariush because inevitably he believes regardless of who they put in front of him, he will be champion.

He left a message for the welterweight division as well saying,

“I’m going to take this belt and defend it like 3-5x and I’m going to come to the welterweight division”

Makhachev sat cage side at UFC 272 and said he wasn’t impressed by the performances of both Colby Covington and Jorge Masvidal and believes he could beat both.

“Colby he just has wrestling. I can beat him very easy. His striking is too slow.” Makhachev added.

Luckily for the 170lb division, Makhachev still has unfinished business at 155.

You can watch the full interview here:

Masvidal Remains Eager To Finish Covington Beef On The Streets

The beef between Jorge Masvidal and Colby Covington is not over just yet. On Saturday night, Jorge Masvidal and Colby Covington faced off in the main event of UFC 272. This bout could have ended their ongoing feud once and for all, but it seems it has not. Covington came away with the victory by…

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The beef between Jorge Masvidal and Colby Covington is not over just yet.

On Saturday night, Jorge Masvidal and Colby Covington faced off in the main event of UFC 272. This bout could have ended their ongoing feud once and for all, but it seems it has not.

Covington came away with the victory by unanimous decision and could have made a case for the next title shot along the way. In the lead-up to the bout, both men were engaged in trash talk and taking personal shots at one another.

Masvidal and Covington used to be friends and training partners. This closeness allowed for more personal insults to be thrown both ways. Covington took it a step further and mentioned Masvidal’s family in some of his trash talk. This kind of thing is not so easily forgotten by Masvidal.

“Like I said, none of it is personal, but it just sucks because this idiot talked about my kids, you know?” he said during the UFC 272 post-fight press conference. “He’s still somebody, if I see him out on the streets, I’m gonna give him everything I got to break his fuckin’ jaw. It doesn’t matter if I lost wrestling scrambles tonight. I still think he’s a fuckin’ pussy.”

This is not the first time Masvidal has threatened violence against Covington on the street. Prior to UFC 272, Masvidal told a story of wanting to brawl with Covington outside of a sushi restaurant. Covington has also stated in the past that he would dump Masvidal on his head if the two crossed paths on the streets of Miami.

Instead, the two fought inside the Octagon last Saturday. This grudge match was an interesting one to fans, so much so that it warranted a non-title fight main event, which is rare for a PPV.

Fans were invested in the friendship turned heated feud being settled. However, judging from Masvidal’s comments, their beef is still going strong and may still spill onto the streets.

Would you be interested in a rematch between Jorge Masvidal and Colby Covington with or without the title on the line?

Continue Reading Masvidal Remains Eager To Finish Covington Beef On The Streets at MMA News.