According to UFC president Dana White, he does not condone his athletes fighting outside the cage – but in the case of Jorge Masvidal and Colby Covington, he isn’t surprised it allegedly happened.
White weighed in for the first time Friday on the alleged attack by Masvidal, in which he punched rival Covington in the face resulting in a broken tooth. Masvidal was arrested and faces charges of aggravated battery and criminal mischief.
“First of all, in no way shape or form do I ever condone violence and my guys fighting each other in the streets or sh*t like that,” White said, on The Pat McAfee Show. “On the flip side, when you’re dealing with a guy like Jorge Masvidal and you start talking about his family, all these fighters listen, say what you want to say about me, you hate me, you think I’m ugly, you think I’m stupid – whatever my thing is. When you start talking about people’s families, it goes to a whole other level, man.”
Condone it or not, White said he isn’t surprised by what allegedly happened. The trash-talk in the lead-up to the UFC 272 main event between Covington and Masvidal was super-personal, especially given the two fighters’ history as former friends and training partners.
“If you’re talking about people’s families and you’re walking out of a restaurant, you better be ready for a guy like Jorge Masvidal to run up on you,” White said. “I mean, is anybody shocked? He talked sh*t about his kids and his wife. Do you think he’s not going to do that? Of course he’s going to do that.”
“… You’ve got to understand these guys were actually friends and training partners, so they know intimate details about each other, about each other’s lives, about each other’s families. There is something that’s called f*cking man code. A lot of these young, goofy f*cking dudes these days don’t know about it – but they need to learn about it.”
White did not comment on whether or not the two could fight again in the future. He revealed should Khamzat Chimaev defeat Gilbert Burns at UFC 273 this Saturday, the former will likely face Covington next.
The promotion has not yet revealed its plans for Masvidal. In the midst of legal proceedings, Masvidal is due in court on April 21 for an initial hearing.
