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Jorge Masvidal reportedly attacked Colby Covington — was it a reap what you sow moment?

If over the course of a few years, you get a boomerang thrown at you, get pelted with a deluge of trash, get attacked in a buffet line and then socked in the jaw at a steak house, it might be time to consider that you’re the problem and not the people who are trying to do you bodily harm. That’s the spot Colby Covington finds himself in these days.

Covington’s problems can be traced back to a specific date and incident. That date was October 28, 2017. The incident was his post-fight speech in front of more than 10,260 fans inside Brazil’s Ginásio do Ibirapuera.

After putting a beating on Demian Maia in the co-main event of UFC Fight Night 119, Covington verbally attacked the event’s host country, “Brazil, you’re a dump!” Covington shouted into the mic. “All you filthy animals suck.”

On his way to the dressing room, the crowd showed its disapproval by booing Covington and throwing trash at him as arena personnel tried to hustle him backstage.

Less than a month later, Brazilian fighter, and former UFC heavyweight champion, Fabricio Werdum ran into Covington in Sydney, Australia. A video, shot by UFC fighter Dan Hooker, caught the two exchanging words before Werdum threw a boomerang, which was in a plastic bag, at Covington.

The brief speech he made after the Maia win marked a turning point in Covington’s career. From that point on, he adopted an abrasive persona that drew the ire of fans and fighters alike.

After he defeated Tyron Woodley at UFC Vegas 11, Covington said that Woodley, in his support of Black Lives Matter, was “standing up for lifelong criminals.” Covington also took shots at Kamaru Usman, who was born in Africa, saying, “Who did you get a call from? Did you get a call from, freaking, your little tribe? Did they give you some smoke signals for you?”

UFC fighter Sijara Eubanks called Covington’s remarks “flat-out racist. It was racist. It was disgusting.”

UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya said, “This guy has directly insulted my culture, my brother and many other cultures, and no one says anything,”

Meanwhile UFC president Dana White downplayed Covington’s remarks when asked about them.

“I don’t know if I heard anything racist that [Colby Covington] said,” said White.

It seemed as if Covington had taken notes on the persona Chael Sonnen created during his UFC run and decided he was going to dive deeper into the muck.

Where some were able to forgive — or deny — Sonnen’s indiscretions because he employed charisma and humor while delivering his “trash talk,” Covington performed his shtick with the type of meanness, anger and vitriol that left him no way to wiggle himself out from under the weight of his words.

In the lead up to his fight with former friend and teammate Jorge Masvidal at UFC 272, Covington took things even lower.

“The only people that are in critical condition on Sunday are his (Masvidal’s) kids. He turned his back on them. He doesn’t want to own up and be the dad that he should be to them. He’s a deadbeat dad. He’s a deadbeat person. He’s just going to be plain dead on Saturday night on pay-per-view,” said Covington during UFC 272 media day.

Masvidal addressed Covington’s words during his own media day appearance, “For many reasons I want to hurt this guy like I’ve never hurt anyone before. One, he’s talking about my kids. Kids, religion, people’s wives. I think that’s beneath us. Let other sports do that. We don’t need to do that… If you want to talk about me, I get that, but what do my kids have to do with that?”

Covington won the fight, but Masvidal was not willing to forgive or forget the personal nature of Covington’s remarks. Things came to a head earlier this week when Masvidal reportedly attacked Covington at a Miami restaurant.

I will surely not defend what Masvidal did (or Werdum, or Ali Abdelaziz), but I will also say Covington is not without blame in this situation. Words and actions can have repercussions. I’m not saying Covington can’t say the things he says or act the way he acts, but he can’t be surprised when people react and take extreme offense to pointed and personal attacks.

The entire situation reminds me of something Henry Rollins once said about growing up in the punk rock scene in Washington DC in the 1980’s. Rollins’ point was that it’s a small world and that if you talk crazy about someone, you should know that you could — and probably will — run into that person at some point and they might want to “discuss” what you said using nonverbal means. Because of that, one should try to be careful with their words.

Masvidal, like Werdum and Abdelaziz, delivered a message to Covington. Time will tell if Covington, following his reported assault from Masvidal, finally got the point. I’m not holding out any hope.

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Jorge Masvidal turned himself in on Wednesday night.

UFC welterweight and “BMF” champion Jorge Masvidal turned himself into Miami Beach police on Wednesday night for his alleged involvement in a physical altercation with former friend and training partner Colby Covington. According to Miami’s Local 10 News, “Gamebred” was then booked into the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center.

Local 10’s cameras also captured a handcuffed Masvidal scurrying into the jail, seemingly trying to avoid exposure.

The alleged incident involving Masvidal happened on Monday night at Papi Steak restaurant. According to details from the police report, a “masked and hooded man” who appeared to be Masvidal “ran up from the left side” and “sucker-punched” a then-unnamed individual.

Local 10 later confirmed that the other person in question was indeed Covington, who is believed to have suffered a “fractured tooth” and an “abrasion to his left wrist.”

As reported by CBS Miami, Masvidal is now facing charges of aggravated battery causing great bodily harm and criminal mischief. He is currently being held on $ 15,000 bail.

Covington and Masvidal headlined UFC 272 earlier this month in a grudge match that was three years in the making. “Chaos” won the fight via unanimous decision, sending Masvidal to his third consecutive loss inside the Octagon.

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Check out Bloody Elbow’s pre-fight, fight night, and post-fight coverage for UFC COLUMBUS: ‘BLAYDES VS. DAUKAUS’, set for Saturday, March 26th in Columbus, Ohio. The main event is a heavyweight battle between wrestling standout Curtis Blaydes and the heavy-handed Chris Daukaus. In the co-main event, Joanne Wood takes on Alexa Grasso in a matchup of two former strawweights looking for a title shot at women’s flyweight.

The main card airs live on ESPN/ESPN+ at 10 PM ET/7 PM PT, with prelims also on ESPN/ESPN+ at 7 PM ET/4 PM PT.

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Chechen dissidents posting anonymously on the 1Adat Telegram channel called out UFC welterweight Khamzat Chimaev for his continued association with warlord Ramzan Kadyrov.

Chechen dissidents opposed to Ramzan Kadyrov have called out UFC breakout star Khamzat Chimaev for his continued association with the pro-Putin warlord.

1Adat, an anonymous Telegram channel in Chechnya popularly known for its mix of informative humorous, and accusatory content, posted a series of attacks directed at Chimaev, as well as Chechen boxer Artur Beterbiev.

“Ukrainian boxers Lomachenko and Usyk stood up to defend their homeland from the invaders while Beterbiev and Chimaev, who called Kadyrov a brother and convinced people to support Akhmat’s path, keep silent, sitting in America and Europe,” read one of the posts. “Beterbiev suddenly became a Canadian, and Chimaev a Swede. And no one, even for the sake of decency, has renounced his past convictions, but only acts with the maximum personal benefit for himself.”

Kadyrov, who has ruled Chechnya like his personal fiefdom since rising to power in 2007, is routinely accused of orchestrating human rights abuses including assassinations, abductions, torture, extrajudicial killings, and purges targeting the local LGBTQ+ community. He also uses sports such as football and MMA to distract from his ongoing abuses and to help whitewash his image on a global stage, which is why he launched his Akhmat MMA fight club in 2015.

Chimaev visited Kadyrov’s Akhmat MMA facility in Grozny on numerous occasions, including June 2019, where he participated in the ‘Extra Rounds’ combat sports talk show and hosted a training seminar for children. A clip of his appearance shows him training at the facility, with a picture of Kadyrov emblazoned along the wall behind him. He regularly donned the club’s attire, which consisted of t-shirt with the Akhmat MMA logo along with a picture of Ramzan Kadyrov’s late father, Akhmad Kadyrov, the former president of Chechnya who was assassinated in 2004.

Following a recent string of impressive performances in the UFC, Chimaev quickly rose to become Kadyrov’s favorite fighter. He gifted Chimaev a luxury Mercedes Benz (which Chimaev promptly crashed), sparred with Chimaev on camera, and posed with the fighter for a photo op on several occasions. Kadyrov also pressured Chimaev not to retire despite health complications arising from COVID-19.

Khamzat Chimaev Instagram

Chimaev was also present when Kadyrov issued a death threat to a 15-year-old Chechen teenager who had spoken out against his repressive regime.

Meanwhile, Beterbiev also has a well-documented history with Kadyrov. Though Beterbiev resides in his adopted hometown of Montreal, Canada, he is a member of Kadyrov’s Akhmat fight club and has been rewarded with expensive cars and lavish goods for in exchange for his continued loyalty to the dictator. Kadyrov even went so far as to name Beterbiev a future world champion.

Despite posting a montage of himself with Kadyrov in January 2021, Beterbiev has not posted about the Chechen dictator since Russia invaded Ukraine last month. Chimaev, too, has refrained from mentioning Kadyrov or the ongoing war in his recent social media posts.

“Where are you, Kadyrov’s athletes? Why are you not on the front lines? Why don’t you all march in droves to Ukraine, leaving behind your golden palaces, expensive foreign cars and a luxurious life?,” continued the 1Adat post. “Suddenly it turned out that ‘the path of Akhmat Kadyrov,’ as we constantly said, is a common cover for traitors, cowards, and hypocrites.”

1Adat is not the first example of Chechen dissidents speaking out against Kadyrov’s UFC fighters. Mansur Sadulaev, the founder of Swedish-based Chechen human rights organization Vayford, referred to Chimaev as a known “Kadyrovite” and a propaganda tool for the dictator.

“[Kadyrov’s] task is to attract the growing youth on his side, as well as to show the whole world that all Chechens, even those outside Chechnya, are satisfied with him as a leader,” Sadulaev told BloodyElbow at the time. “Propaganda plays a huge role in transforming democracy into dictatorship and also greatly contributes to strengthening the power of the dictator.”

Despite his concerning links to a warlord currently involved in the invasion of Ukraine, Chimaev is scheduled to face Gilbert Burns at UFC 273 on April 9, 2022.

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UFC rising star Paddy Pimblett promises to give back to his home city if he one day earns “Conor McGregor money.”

Rising star Paddy Pimblett has been getting a lot of push from the UFC, and for good reason. And credit to the 27-year-old Liverpool native for living up to all the hype, so far, now with two impressive UFC wins under his belt.

Given his budding star power, many people are already comparing him to one of today’s biggest sports stars, Conor McGregor. And if he does rise to the same level of recognition and gets the same massive paydays, Pimblett promises to give back to his local community in a big way.

“I hope I do end up earning as much money as Conor McGregor, lad,” he said during the UFC London post-fight presser while munching on a slice of pizza. “Then no child in my city will ever eat from a food bank ever again.

“I’m gonna give back to my city and sort of been planning on doing the past few months, just to start me own charity. I think after this fight, I’m gonna get it done.”

“Paddy the Baddy” notched his second victory inside the Octagon on Saturday via first-round submission against Mexico’s Kazula Vargas. But right now, he’s a far cry from a McGregor payday as he revealed earning just $ 12,000 to show and $ 12,000 to win for Saturday’s event.

“It goes up after every fight, but you’re in a contract, so it’s whenever they want to offer me a new one, they offer me a new one,” Pimblett said. “So it’s just one of those things.”

He did, however, take home a $ 50K bonus for Performance of the Night, his second since he made his UFC debut in September 2021.

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Pro fighters and media reacted to reports that Masvidal had assaulted Covington outside a Miami Beach restaurant.

Jorge Masvidal’s ongoing feud with Colby Covington is making headlines once again. Despite losing a unanimous decision to his former friend and training partner at UFC 272, Masvidal has made it clear that he still feels he has a score to settle with the former standout collegiate wrestler. And if the events of Monday, March 21st are anything to judge by, it seems he’s fully prepared to pursue that score outside the Octagon.

Recently released police reports name Masvidal as the prime suspect in a felony battery case, after a witness told officers they saw ‘Gamebred’ run up on an unnamed victim out side of Papi Steak restaurant in Miami Beach—striking the victim twice, in the mouth and eye. Video released by TMZ from that evening shows Covington surrounded by police officers apparently recounting the event.

“He’s over here swinging, trying to come at me, and I ran out the back,” Covington told officers.

The news hasn’t gone unnoticed on social media, where professional fighters and media shared their reactions to reported incident.

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Tom Aspinall appears to be another new title contender at heavyweight coming out of UFC London.

UFC London delivered in a big way. The promotion’s first venture to the UK in around three years featured a ton of thrilling action and is at the top of the list for the best event of 2022 right now. In the headliner, Tom Aspinall had his coming out party as a heavyweight title contender by taking out Alexander Volkov in effortless fashion. Arnold Allen picked up a signature win by taking out the always tough Dan Hooker. And Paul Craig’s ground game proved deadly yet again, which sent him back up the ladder at 205.

Here’s a look at all the rankings changes this week.

Men’s P4P – No changes.

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Heavyweight – Aspinall is up five big spots to number six, and in line for a major fight next. Volkov, Jairzinho Rozenstruik, Chris Daukaus and Marcin Tybura all fall a spot each to seven through ten respectively. Sergei Pavlovich pops back into the list at 11 after picking up a win following a long absence. Shamil Abdurakhimov, who Pavlovich beat, falls two to 12. Augusto Sakai, Walt Harris, and Blagoy Ivanov all fall one each to 13 through 15.

Light Heavyweight – Craig jumps into the top ten, rising three spots to eight. Volkan Oezdemir falls one to nine. Nikita Krylov is down two to 11 after the loss to Bearjew.

Middleweight – No changes.

Welterweight – No changes.

Lightweight – Dan Hooker’s departure from the division is the only reason he’s fallen from 8 to 13. Gregor Gillespie moves up one spot to 8, while Rafael Fiziev, Arman Tsarukyan, and Mateusz Gamrot make up 10th-12th. Conor McGregor stays at 9.

Featherweight – No changes.

Bantamweight – No changes.

Flyweight – Rogerio Bontorin is up one spot into a tie for seven with Kai Kara-France. Tyson Nam and Jordan Espinosa flip-flop the 13 and 14 spots.

Women’s P4P – No changes.

Women’s Bantamweight – No changes.

Women’s Flyweight – No changes.

Women’s Strawweight – No changes.

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Pettis suffered an injury that will require surgery and several months to recover from. 

Sergio Pettis can no longer compete in the Bellator Bantamweight World Grand Prix.

Brent Brookhouse of CBS Sports reported on Tuesday that the reigning champion had been forced to withdraw from the tournament after suffering an undisclosed injury recently. Pettis was expected to defend his championship against Roufusport teammate Raufeon Stots in the opening round. Filling in for him is Juan Archuleta, the former champion who now fights Stots for an interim title at Bellator 279 on April 23.

Pettis has since confirmed his withdrawal and revealed his injury requires surgery that will take between six to nine months to recover from.

“Well Bellator should be announcing today that I’m out of the tournament for a million dollars,” wrote Pettis on his Facebook. “Sustained a injury last Monday that will put me out for 6-9 months and I’ll be getting my first surgery after years of competing. Just wasn’t meant to be and I’ve come to peace with that. Definitely depressing but I’m ready to get this ball rolling and return asap.”

Since joining the promotion over two years ago, Pettis has gone unbeaten under the Bellator banner. The ‘Phenom’ earned wins over Alfred Khashakyan and Ricky Bandejas before challenging then-champion Archuleta at Bellator 258, where he dethroned ‘The Spaniard’ by unanimous decision. In his first title defense, Pettis delivered both a ‘Knockout of the Year’ and ‘Comeback of the Year’ contender against Kyoji Horiguchi, who he finished with a spinning backfist.

There is no word yet on who replaces Pettis in the field, but Bellator has an option in Josh Hill. The ‘Gentleman’ was declared an alternate for the tournament immediately after his stunning second-round knockout of Jared Scoggins at Bellator 272 this past December. Hill has already drawn his next assignment in Enrique Barzola at Bellator 278, the event scheduled a day before the start of the Grand Prix.

With the addition of Archuleta vs. Stots, Bellator 279 has six confirmed fights. The headliner will see Cris Cyborg defend her women’s featherweight championship against Arlene Blencowe again.

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The former top ranked bantamweight will try his luck without gloves.

Bare Knuckle Fighting Championships have picked up another former UFC fighter for their roster. MMA Junkie reports that Jimmie Rivera has signed with the bare-knuckle boxing outfit and it scheduled to debut for the promotion on May 6.

Rivera’s debut fight is slated for BKFC 25 in Orlando, FL. His opponent is yet to be announced.

Ex-UFC fighters are becoming more commonplace in BKFC. Among the most notable who have made the switch are Chad Mendes, Paige VanZant, Mike Perry, Thiago Alves, Rachael Ostovitch and Hector Lombard.

After a failed attempt to get into The Ultimate Fighter house in 2011, Rivera debuted in the UFC in 2015. In his first fight he handed Marcus Brimage a first round KO.

‘El Terror’ won his next four fights to catapult up the UFC’s bantamweight rankings and into the title picture. During that run he scored wins over Pedro Munhoz, Thomas Almeida and Urijah Faber.

Rivera’s momentum was stunted by a Marlon Moraes head kick in 2018. Rivera rebounded from that disappointment with a win over John Dodson, but then lost back-to-back contests to future champions Aljimain Sterling and Petr Yan (both by unanimous decision).

In 2020 he beat Cody Stamann by unanimous decision. In February 2021 he lost a unanimous decision to former foe Munhoz. With that fight Rivera fought out his UFC contract.

BKFC 25 does not have any bouts currently announced. BKFC’s next show is BKFC 23 on April 8. That event is headlined by former Bellator mainstays Mike Richman and Dave Rickels.

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The Irish sports star is currently being sued by a woman who claims she was assaulted by McGregor at a Dublin Hotel in 2018, after the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions failed to bring criminal charges against him.

Conor McGregor may be officially clear of any criminal charges stemming from accusations that he sexually assaulted a woman at Dublin’s Beacon Hotel, back in December of 2018. But, that doesn’t mean the case is entirely behind him.

The “well known Irish sports star” is currently facing a lawsuit brought against him by his accuser, following the Office of the DDP’s decision not to pursue a criminal case in early 2021. That lawsuit seeks damages in the range of $ 1.79 million to $ 2.13 million to cover lost earnings, medical expenses, and the sale of a former residence and purchase of a new home to “escape the reminders of the ordeal.”

As part of the discovery process for the lawsuit, the Independent reports that attorneys for the plaintiff filed a pre-trail motion to obtain any evidence collected by the gardaí (Irish police force) in reference to the case, including statements, toxicology reports, CCTV footage, photographs, and “all data, downloads, reports, or information from any mobile phones obtained or interrogated in the course of the investigation.” Although cellular data would be reportedly limited only to the dates between October 31st–December 10th, 2018.

That motion was granted by Justice Emily Egan on Monday, March 21st. Lawyers for the plaintiff will have 10 weeks to examine the materials and conclude their discovery process. At the time of the lawsuit’s filing, last year, a spokesperson for McGregor said that they were “confident that justice will prevail,” and categorically reject the allegations made against him.

Following the initial reports of the incident, McGregor returned to UFC competition in January of 2020, with a victory over Donald Cerrone. He fought again a year later, losing to former foe Dustin Poirier via 2nd round TKO. The two men faced off in a trilogy bout later that year, with McGregor suffering a broken leg in the opening round, resulting in a TKO loss via doctor’s stoppage. The longtime SBG Ireland talent is currently rehabbing that injury, but is widely expected to return to competition in 2022.

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