Why was Colby Covington kicked out of American Top Team? The full story of his beef with former best friend Jorge Masvidal explained
It's no secret that there's no love lost between Colby Covington and Jorge Masvidal. While the two started out as best friends and training partners, their relationship turned into one of the most fierce rivalries in UFC history.
Covington met Masvidal when he was fresh out of the University of Oregon, where his wrestling prowess earned him his flowers, and he decided he wanted to pursue MMA. He soon began training at the famed American Top Team gym (ATT) in South Florida, Masvidal's longtime headquarters.
While the relationship between Colby Covington and Jorge Masvidal benefitted both of them initially, 'Gamebred' reportedly began distancing himself from the wrestling phenom after noticing 'Chaos' displaying some unusual behavioral patterns. During his time at ATT, Covington was also accused of rubbing other members like Dustin Poirier and Joanna Jedrzejczyk the wrong way.
Additionally, due to Covington's outspoken and unfiltered personality causing friction among fellow gym members, ATT founder Dan Lambert enforced a 'Zero Trash-Talking' policy unless fighters agreed to a bout. This did not go down well with Covington, who felt his freedom of speech was being suppressed.
The relationship between Colby Covington and Jorge Masvidal completely broke down after the former interim welterweight champion allegedly refused to pay their long-time striking coach, Paulino Hernandez. Ultimately, This incident was the straw that broke the camel's back, and both men knew their relationship was fractured for good.
In 2020, Colby Covington left ATT to join MMA Masters. He met Masvidal in the octagon at UFC 272 in March 2022, and the two rivals fought in a five-round non-title headliner. Covington defeated Masvidal via unanimous decision.
Colby Covington vs. Jorge Masvidal feud: 'Gambred' believes he's going to fight 'Chaos' again
Jorge Masvidal believes he's going to face Colby Covington again in the future, looking forward to avenging his loss.
As mentioned, there's a lot of bad blood between Covington and Masvidal. While they fought at UFC 272, the former BMF champion hasn't gotten over some of the personal insults 'Chaos' hurled during the build-up to the fight. 'Gamebred' even attacked Covington outside a Miami steakhouse in March 2022, which resulted in minor injuries for the Californian. Covington later pressed charges.
Last month, Masvidal revealed that his long-running court battle was over, and his lawyer managed to have multiple felony charges dropped after they agreed to pay the court fees.
In an interview with Ariel Helwani, Jorge Masvidal iterated that his feud with Colby Covington wasn't over and said:
"I don’t know when, but me and Colby are going to see each other at some point. Whether it’s in a f****** cage, or I don’t know where the f*** it’s going to be, but we’re going to see each other for him lying on my name... He should have never brought up my kids." [h/t mmafighting.com]
Watch the full interview below: