A South Florida sushi restaurant nearly turned into a makeshift Octagon for UFC 272 headliners Jorge Masvidal and Colby Covington.
Masvidal and Covington are slated to face off in a welterweight grudge match at UFC 272. The two former friends and teammates have been on each other’s nerves for years following their fallout.
Masvidal has proven to not be someone who will back down from a fight, even if it means confronting someone in a public setting. This element of his game goes back to his days fighting on the streets of Miami and also when he confronted Leon Edwards backstage in London.
The tension between Masvidal and Covington hit a boiling point following Covington’s win over Rafael dos Anjos at UFC 225. Masvidal has claimed that Covington allegedly failed to pay one of his coaches, which caused tensions to escalate.
Masvidal and Covington nearly brawled on numerous occasions during their time at American Top Team, according to both fighters. But things nearly took a sharp turn after Masvidal tried to lure Covington to a local sushi spot.
During a recent interview with ESPN’s Marc Raimondi, Masvidal detailed his nearly successful plot to fight Covington at a local restaurant.
“I come into a gym, random practice, and I see him there. And he kinda tries to ignore me,” Masvidal claimed. “And I was like, ‘Hey, bro, after practice, we’ll talk.’ He’s like, “Yeah, yeah, for sure, bro. Cool, cool. We’ll talk.’ And it’s pretty amicable. It’s not that bad.
“He’s like, ‘What do you want to talk about?’ I’m like, ‘I want to talk about you being a bitch and bringing up my name in interviews and Dan [Lambert] said not to.’ I still haven’t gone public with him. I’m just trying to address him man to man. Like, ‘Let’s not go that route, bro. And if you are, let’s just put the gloves on and beat the shit out of each other and get it out the system, you know? It’s pretty cool. I tell him all this; it’s pretty cool. As soon as I turn my back and a couple people come with him, the show starts. I’ll [MUTED] kill you, bro! Don’t ever talk to me like that!’”
After Covington allegedly switched into character, Masvidal details how things escalated in the middle of the gym.
“I turn around, I come to confront him, it’s too late. The whole gym’s involved because he made such a show. So I tell him, ‘There’s this sushi place we always used to go to right here.’ And I tell him, ‘I’m gonna go to the sushi place, bro. Dinner’s on me. Let’s go. I’ll be waiting for you.
“So I get in my car, go to the place, he’s not showing up. I get on Instagram, ‘Hey, bro, if you wanna collect your dinner, I’m over here,’ blah, blah, blah. Never showed up. So I’ve always known, deep down inside, he’s a coward. I just can’t wait for March 5 to expose it.”
Covington has yet to formally reply to Masvidal’s claims.
ATT owner Dan Lambert has recently claimed that the fractured relationship between Masvidal and Covington was unfixable. This led to Covington parting ways with the team and joining nearby MMA Masters to train going forward.
What is your prediction for Jorge Masvidal vs. Colby Covington?