Daniel Cormier thinks Colby Covington and Jorge Masvidal need to keep it in the cage.
On ESPN’s DC & RC t the former champion in two divisions of UFC shared his views on Masvidal’s alleged attack against Covington, which reportedly occurred Monday night at a Miami restaurant. Masvidal is potentially facing felony battery charges, but has not been formally charged.
Covington and Masvidal have been feuding in recent years with the bad blood culminating in a main event matchup at UFC 272 on March 5, where Covington defeated Masvidal by unanimous decision. The fighters were not cordial with one another afterwards and Cormier thinks that the rivalry may have gone too far. Cormier also wondered if Covington needed someone to help him keep in control.
“Colby Covington does not live on the streets,” Cormier stated. “Like, I will tell you today, Colby Covington is not a street guy. Colby Covington likes to fight and talk. His swagger may have crossed the line, and he’s now in a position he isn’t really ready for. He didn’t have anyone to watch out for him so that the situation didn’t get too dangerous. But because I know who I am, I always made sure somebody was in that place with me to make sure that I didn’t cross the line, to ensure my safety and protect everything that I was building.
“Understanding where you’re from, knowing that if things go sideways this is a dude that I know will go and do what he has to do. You’ve gotta have somebody you trust to make sure that you don’t go and lose everything that you worked so hard for. Colby’s not that guy. Colby’s not a guy that is looking to be dealing in street things. He may talk like it. He may talk like it.
In interviews Covington directed insults towards Masvidal that revolved around Masvidal’s family. This tactic was also used in feuds between Dustin Poirier and Kamaru Usman. The situation between he and Masvidal is particularly contentious due to their past as former close friends and training partners.
Cormier understood why Masvidal would want to fight outside the octagon. He compared it to Jon Jones’ heated rivalry, but also criticised “Gamebred”, for failing to seize UFC 272. his chance.
” It’s difficult for me to sit here and really judge Jorge because Jon Jones and myself had numerous altercations which almost ended in the same manner,” Cormier stated. People were not able to stop us taking things to the next level. But here’s the thing, a lot of these altercations happened prior to the fights happening and then we were always very clear of each other.
“You have 25minutes. You’ve also got 25minutes. This is where I will condemn Jorge Masvidal. You had 25 more than two weeks to accomplish everything that you desired. This does not appear to be a — I find it so difficult here to not assume — but this does not feel like a “come face-to face, then we fight,” it feels different. And that’s where it becomes a little bit off.”
*]Cormier also mentioned Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor’s rivalry. McGregor made pointed personal attacks about Nurmagomedov in the lead-up to their fight at UFC 229 in October 2018, including taking shots at Nurmagomedov’s religion, and that boiled over into fight night when Nurmagomedov defeated McGregor and then leaped over the cage to attack McGregor’s cornerman. The incident sparked a brawl between their teams that led to multiple fines and suspensions.
Similarly, the Covington-Masvidal beef has the potential to get worse.
“Jorge Masvidal “is a fighter,” Cormier stated. He’s a fighter and he’s a great dog. But I’m not sure if that can penetrate the streets. We saw it with Khabib and Conor.
“Khabib refused to give up on it. It went too far for him to say, ‘At the end of the fight, we’re OK.’ It went too far. And I feel like that’s what happened. It’s hard to know how you do that in this way. I believe that there is serious stuff that will come from it. These guys are .”
parents.
