UFC 251: Jorge Masvidal shuts down chance of fighting Colby Covington next – ‘he’s below me a lot’
- Masvidal says ‘definitely not that punk’ after it’s suggested he could face former teammate and friend following defeat by Kamaru Usman
- ‘Nobody knows that guy, he got his jaw broken and had to run out of there’ against Usman, says ‘Gamebred’
After Jorge Masvidal came up short in his bid to win the welterweight title from Kamaru Usman in the UFC 251 main event on Fight Island in Abu Dhabi on Sunday, talk naturally turned to his next step in the company.
One thing’s for sure – as long as “Gamebred” gets his way, he won’t be fighting Colby Covington.
“The fragile guy with the MAGA hat, definitely not him, because he got finished by this guy [Usman] with a full training camp,” Masvidal said at the post-event press conference. Covington lost to Usman via fifth-round TKO at UFC 245 in December, in what was the first successful title defence for “The Nigerian Nightmare”.
“He had like 12 weeks and got finished so I think that guy is below me by a lot. Six days’ notice and I was nowhere near getting hurt or getting put out, so definitely not that punk,” Masvidal added.
A mega-money fight against Conor McGregor is still realistically on the table, but UFC president Dana White was uncertain on what Masvidal’s next move should be. Masvidal told ESPN’s Ariel Helwani this week he had signed a new 10-fight deal with the UFC after agreeing the Usman fight.
“I don't know what Masvidal wants to do,” he said. “Give him some time, see what he wants to do next. You guys don't know anything about what happened with the Jorge deal.”
UFC 251: Usman mocks bettor who put US$200k on Masvidal – ‘whoops’
It was put to Masvidal, ranked third, that a fight against No 4 welterweight Leon Edwards might be the next logical step.
“Leon Edwards, if the numbers make sense, or whoever it is that gets me closer to the title,” he said.
Just anyone but Covington.
“Nobody knows that guy, he got his jaw broken and had to run out of there. Whoever makes the most sense to us,” Masvidal added.
