Colby Covington accuses Jorge Masvidal of turning down TUF gig, multiple fight dates

Colby Covington claims Jorge Masvidal turned down a coaching gig on The Ultimate Fighter and subsequent June fight.

Covington and Masvidal were once close friends and training partners, but have since become two of the fiercest rivals in all of mixed martial arts.

Given their rivalry and their respective positions in the welterweight top-5 fans have been chomping at the bit to see them fight. So far, however, the UFC has failed to make this welterweight grudge match a reality.

According to Covington, that’s no fault of his.

Speaking on Submission Radio, the trash-talking welterweight accused Masvidal of turning down multiple offers, most recently the opportunity to coach The Ultimate Fighter and then fight in June.

“After I fought Woodley, Dana White, Hunter Campbell called me, they wanted to get the fight done in December or January,” Covington said (via MMA Mania). “I was on board, I agreed, I put the pen to paper. But Jorge Masvidal was nowhere to be found. He was hiding. And then after he turned down January, they were like, ‘okay, well let’s do the Ultimate Fighter. You know, we can start taping in May, you guys fight as the pay-per-view main event at the end of it in June.’ And it would have been perfect because I am Jorge Masvidal’s father and I know Father’s Day is in June, so it would have been a two-for-one special. I would have beat his ass, spanked my little son and I would have got a happy Father’s Day.”

Interestingly, Covington also shrugged off a potential matchup with another welterweight contender in Leon Edwards.

“Leon hasn’t earned anything, boys,” Covington said. “I’m in the Colby Covington Incorporated championship business, I’m not in the Leon Scott charity business. This isn’t charity hour, man.

“I’m fighting at the top of the mountain, I’m fighting the best in the world,” Covington continued. “It’s not my fault this kid [Edwards] hasn’t fought in two years. It’s not my fault this kid – there’s people from England fighting all the time in the pandemic, they’re not scared to fight. So, I’m not doing charity for this guy who hasn’t fought in two years. He’s irrelevant, he’s beat a bunch of bums, and I’m not doing charity. This isn’t charity hour, this is f*cking championship f*cking pay-per-view hour.”

With Masvidal and Edwards both off the table, Covington seems to believe his only option is a welterweight title shot against Kamaru Usman, who he lost to via fifth-round TKO in 2019.

“I would say, who’s fighting Marty Fakenewsman,” Covington asked. “You’re gonna give ‘Street Judas’ Masvidal, the same guy that you were talking on the phone with me and saying he’s the hardest guy in the world to deal with, he’s the next Diaz, he only wants to fight once every two or three years, you’re gonna reward that guy? He hasn’t fought since that fight, a year. And that fight goes the same way every single time. You want to do that same exact outcome again? For what? What’s the point? Six days, six months, six years, that fight’s the same every single time. The people want to see one fight, they want to see the rematch, Marty Fakenewsman, Colby ‘Chaos’ Covington part two.”

Who do you want to see Colby Covington fight next?