Colby Covington has undoubtedly become one of the most polarizing figures across all of combat sports. But his outlandish statements and brash behavior have also resulted in a lot of frayed relationships.
Perhaps the most significant change occurred when Covington, an interim champion in the welterweight division, split from American Top Team. This was the gym where he had spent his entire fighting career. The exit from the Florida-based gym came after Covington engaged in numerous public battles with teammates, including an intense rivalry with Jorge Masvidal that culminated in a fight as the main event at UFC 272.
Joanna Jedrzejczyk, former UFC strawweight champion, has not hesitated to voice her opinions on Covington following his disparaging comments about her when they were training together.
Jedrzejczyk backs Masvidal in his preparations for Covington’s highly anticipated grudge fight. He also plans to be cageside at UFC 272.
” I am very, very excited,” said she on The Fighter. The writer . “Colby is a great athlete, and what I remember from back in the day, that he was always training on the mat. He was training for an additional one-and-a-half hours with Jorge Masvidal after the session was over.
“Actually, I had this conversation with [someone] the other day, how crazy was it is that they were friends. They had always been together. Now you see all these promo videos, they were cornering each other. They are now the greatest rivals.
” It’s a hard fight, but Jorge Masvidal is going to surprise us again just like Darren Till and Ben Askren .”
Long before he left American Top Team, Covington built his brand around an outspoken support of former President Donald Trump. He also posted videos that touted a lavish lifestyle. He seemingly took shots at half the UFC roster and frequently jabbed at former two-division champion Conor McGregor. Jedrzejczyk found this to be a truly strange thing, considering how Covington seemed determined to look just like “The Notorious .”
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” The worst thing about Colby is that most of what he claimed [and] he has done are false,” Jedrzejczyk stated. “The way he was acting after he won the interim belt, like all the old man opening the door for him, him having a driver, these girls, these b*tches around him, walking to our American Top Team. This was false. It wasn’t true. Only one Conor McGregor.
“So don’t call names on him and you’re trying to act like him. You have empty pockets, and you’re trying to act like a king. You can’t do these things. You can’t tell lies.”
Covington’s beef with his former team will certainly take center stage at UFC 272, and Jedrzejczyk has full confidence that Masvidal will settle the grudge once and for all.
“I can tell you guys he’s training really hard,” Jedrzejczyk said about Masvidal. Jorge is very focused, and it’s a great feeling to see him go from nowhere to something. He received what he was entitled to. He got what he deserved.
“It is a very important battle for us all, but he also has the support of the ATT army. Because Colby, he didn’t make a good impression when he was leaving.”
For all that he has done and said, Jedrzejczyk cannot help but wish for Covington to get what he is due when he faces Masvidal on Saturday night.
“You can’t burn the bridges,” Jedrzejczyk said. “Karma is bad, and I hope that Colby will have a strong ass when it [bites] him.”
