"I just want to give him a big hug"- Stephen Thompson talks about Jorge Masvidal vs Colby Covington and the altercation afterwards
Stephen Thompson has chimed in with his take on the Jorge Masvidal vs. Colby Covington grudge match as well as Masvidal’s alleged attack on ‘Chaos’ in the ensuing days. Masvidal faced Covington in a five-round welterweight bout that headlined UFC 272 on March 5th.
The fight witnessed Covington dominantly outwrestle and defeat Masvidal via unanimous decision. Thompson hasn’t fought 'Chaos’ but holds a unanimous decision win over Masvidal whom he beat at UFC 217 in November 2017.
After all the history between them, Colby Covington and Jorge Masvidal finally met in the middle of the octagon at #UFC272 👊
Highlights from a five-round dust-up in Las Vegas... https://t.co/S9UTOddnO7
In an interview with Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour, Stephen Thompson was asked for his thoughts on Masvidal’s performance against Covington. Thompson responded by stating:
“He kept his cool. I’ve been there. I wanted to tell I just want to give him a big hug. Like, ‘Dude. I’ve been there, bro.’” Thompson laughed and added, “I’ve been the guy who’s constantly taking you down.”
While Thompson spoke about being the guy who’s constantly taking someone down, the widely-revered Karateka and striking specialist appears to have misspoken. ‘Wonderboy’ likely meant to say that he can empathize with Jorge Masvidal, as he too faces opponents who avoid striking with him and instead look for takedowns. Thompson continued:
“And he’s the guy that just wants to bang. He just wants to. Give him somebody that wants to fight, and that will be a ‘Fight of the Night’ fight for sure. So, he wasn’t able to pull it off. And then, you got the fight on the street after the fight. It’s like, come on, guys. Come on, man. We get paid for this. Let’s go. You ain’t gotta be doing that on the street. So, it is what it is, man.”
Watch Stephen Thompson’s conversation with Ariel Helwani in the video below:
Henry Cejudo sides with Colby Covington in his ongoing feud against Jorge Masvidal
A few days after his loss to Covington, Masvidal allegedly ambushed and sucker-punched him in the face outside the Papi Steak restaurant in Miami. ‘Chaos’ pressed charges against Masvidal, who was later arrested and charged with aggravated battery and criminal mischief. Masvidal’s currently out on bail and will have to appear in court on April 21st.
MMA legend Henry Cejudo addressed this in an edition of The Schmozone Podcast and lent his support to Colby Covington. Justifying Covington’s act of pressing charges against Jorge Masvidal, Cejudo said:
“I think if I was in Colby’s situation – it’s hard for me to not say, especially if you sucker-punch and not press charges. Because if somebody sucker-punched me, I’m pressing charges, dude. You know what I’m saying? Like, I’m really pressing charges. I don’t care who you are. Because that’s just not cool.”