Colby Covington isn’t convinced Jorge Masvidal hangs up the glove forever.
After losing his fourth straight fight at the hands of Gilbert Burns earlier this month at UFC 287, Masvidal announced his retirement in front of a packed crowd in Miami.
After the match, Masvidal said he was now starting to feel like a 38-year-old when he competed, claiming his mind was still sharp, but the body wouldn’t cooperate. Although it was clear Masvidal was slowing down, Covington believes “Gamebred” is using retirement as an excuse to use steroids before returning to competition.
Before losing to Burns, Covington was dominated in five rounds by Covington at UFC 272, and his former friend and training partner suggests he robbed him of his star power that evening.
UFC welterweight Colby Covington slams Jorge Masvidal’s retirement
“I took away his self-confidence and his arrogance.” Covington said internal fight. “He wasn’t the same fighter. He just showed up to get his last fight paycheck. It’s a fake retirement. We all know people in the UFC who don’t retire. He’s going to come out of the USADA pool, maybe go for some steroids, and come back.”
“He doesn’t know how to make money any other way than by fighting. He’s not really retired. This guy is dumber than fuck in the head. He won’t be able to make money any other way than by fighting. I can guarantee you he’ll come back for a paycheck.”
Cross quotes MMA junkie
Despite his claim that Masvidal can’t make money outside of physical fighting, he has used his stardom over the past several years to his advantage by managing and financing several successful businesses. Among them is Gamebred Boxing, which recently hosted an event in Milwaukee earlier this month featuring names like Roy Jones Jr., Anthony Pettis, Jose Aldo, Jeremy Stephens and Vitor Belfort.
Gamebred Boxing also paid fighters big, with the fighters’ payouts coming in at nearly $3 million combined.
Covington is preparing for his third championship opportunity against Leon Edwards later this year. The 35-year-old was weighed in as a back-up fighter for Edwards against Usman 3 in March but was not required. Edwards recently revealed that he wants to fight at UFC 294 in Abu Dhabi in October.
What do you think of Colby Covington’s comments? do you agree? Let us know in the comments!