MMA
Jorge Masvidal on facing Colby Covington at UFC 272: 'I'm going to knock him unconscious, and send him off on a stretcher'
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The UFC rarely makes non-title fights for their main events. However, they made an exception for Saturday's UFC 272 as Colby Covington and Jorge Masvidal will battle it out in the headliner.
Covington and Masvidal were good friends and trained together at American Top Team. At one point, Covington lived with Masvidal for around eight months. However, things turned sour quickly after Covington won the interim welterweight title against Rafael dos Anjos at UFC 225 in June 2018 with Masvidal in his corner. As with most relationships, friends became bitter enemies due to money.Â
Covington refused to pay Masvidal's long-time striking coach, Paulino Hernandez, his total amount for the fight, which he told MMA Junkie was $17,500. Instead, Covington paid only $5,000, according to Hernandez. After that, things started getting out of hand, with Covington making veiled comments about Masvidal and his kids.
Those comments struck a nerve in Masvidal. He's a guy who doesn't make fights personal because he understands it's a business at the end of the day. But Covington's words and actions have Masvidal feeling like this fight is the closest it can ever get to being personal. Because of that, Masvidal promises to make Covington eat his words and even predicts what people will be reading on Sunday morning following UFC 272.
"The headline Sunday morning is going to be Jorge Masvidal wins and sends Colby Covington to his funeral," Masvidal told DAZN News. "I'm going to knock him unconscious and send him off on a stretcher."
If the fight goes the full five rounds, is there a chance Masvidal would shake hands with Covington at the conclusion of the contest? Don't count on it.
"Not a chance," Masvidal bluntly said. "For what he's said about my family, American Top Team, Dan Lambert (ATT owner), I would never do that.
"You don't have to worry because you aren't going to see Colby Covington after UFC 272. He's either going to be dead, or if he somehow survives, he'll be fighting at the beginning of a regional MMA show."
