Getty Colby Covington (L) and Jorge Masvidal battle at UFC 272 on March 5, 2022.
MMA superstar Jorge Masvidal was arrested and charged last month, and UFC president Dana White recently gave his take on the situation.
“Gamebred” was accused of attacking his rival and fellow UFC 170-pounder Colby Covington. According to “Chaos,” Masvidal approached him outside of Papi Steak in Miami Beach, Florida, on March 21 and punched him in the face twice, fracturing his tooth, injuring his wrist and causing damage to his Rolex watch.
Two days later, Masvidal was taken into custody and charged with criminal mischief and aggravated battery with a mask causing great bodily harm, two felonies. “Masvidal entered a written plea of not guilty along with a demand for a trial by jury,” and his first court appearance is set for April 21, MMA Fighting reported.
During a recent appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show,” the UFC president was asked about the Covington/Masvidal situation. Although White strongly disagrees with Masvidal’s alleged actions, he pointed to Covington using over-the-line trash talk during the build-up to their UFC 272 scrap and beyond.
“First of all, in no way shape or form do I ever condone violence and my guys fighting each other in the streets or sh*t like that,” White said via MMA Junkie. “On the flip side, when you’re dealing with a guy like Jorge Masvidal and you start talking about his family, all these fighters listen, say what you want to say about me, you hate me, you think I’m ugly, you think I’m stupid – whatever my thing is. When you start talking about people’s families, it goes to a whole other level, man.”
White Said There’s a ‘Man Code,’ Asked if Anyone Is ‘Shocked’ By Masvidal’s Alleged Response
White continued with his opinion on the alleged altercation. The UFC president isn’t shocked that Masvidal could have done something like that. There is a “man code,” something that Covington violated.
“If you’re talking about people’s families and you’re walking out of a restaurant, you better be ready for a guy like Jorge Masvidal to run up on you,” White continued. “I mean, is anybody shocked? He talked s*** about his kids and his wife. Do you think he’s not going to do that? Of course he’s going to do that.”
“… You’ve got to understand these guys were actually friends and training partners, so they know intimate details about each other, about each other’s lives, about each other’s families. There is something that’s called f****** man code. A lot of these young, goofy f****** dudes these days don’t know about it – but they need to learn about it.”
Masvidal Is 0-3 Since Becoming the Promotion’s ‘BMF’
Legal troubles aside, Gamebred has had a rough time inside the Octagon since his breakthrough year in 2019. Masvidal scored three KO/TKOs that year, and he became the UFC’s “Baddest Motherf*****” after beating Nate Diaz at UFC 244.
Masvidal has fought three times since then, twice against UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman and once against Covington. And Masvidal has come up short every time.
He dropped back-to-back fights to Usman, losing via unanimous decision and KO. And then he was dominated by Covington last month.