Colby Covington Slams Jorge Masvidal For "Dodging" And "Running" From Their Grudge Match

There's no love lost between Colby Covington and Jorge Masvidal.

The two former training partners and ex-best pals are poised to go toe-to-toe inside the octagon in 2021 to finally settle their bitter rivalry.

But outspoken former interim welterweight champion Covington has now accused Masvidal and "dodging" and "running" from the upcoming bout.

And to add even more fuel to the fire, he even claimed that a fight against the UFC's 'Baddest Mother F***er" belt winner would be: "The easiest paycheck of my life."

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The two mixed martial artists, who fight out of American Top Team in Florida, have been going back and fourth on social media ever since their public falling out a few years back.

And while the exact reason for their split as best mates is still unknown, there's no hiding the underlying tensions between the two - so much so that they reportedly train at different times in the gym in a bid to avoid bumping into each other.

While their performances inside the octagon has earned them both title shots against Kamaru Usman, their reception outside of it has seen them take entirely different journeys in the eyes of the UFC fans.

Masvidal has quickly become one of the most popular MMA fighters on the planet, while Covington's outspoken nature and need to call out everyone under the sun (even NBA megastar LeBron James) has seen him adopt the 'bad guy' role.

The pair's undeniable ability combined with their public spat has all the ingredients to conjure up one of the biggest bouts in recent welterweight history.

But Covington doesn't believe his ex-training partner wants to fight at all.

"I hope it's happening," he told former UFC fan favourite Chael Sonnen on his Beyond the Fight podcast.

"Last I heard from Dana and the UFC, they said they were going to make it happen.

"I've been on it since Day 1, since I fought Tyron Woodley and ended his career and left him out on a stretcher. I agreed to fight Masvidal in September.

"You know, it's clear who wants to fight. It's clear who doesn't want to fight. There's probably a reason he doesn't want to fight me.

"He's experienced this before (during training). This is the easiest paycheck of my life. This is free money. He's not even as good as Tyron Woodley. Tyron Woodley's an actual world champion, not a 'BMF.'

"If this guy, 'Street Judas' Masvidal, was such a 'BMF,' such a bad motherf***er, he wouldn't be running. He wouldn't be dodging fights, so the only reason this is getting held up is because of 'Street Judas' Masvidal."

While an official date hasn't been booked for the fight, UFC president Dana White seems interested in making it happen at some point in 2021.

And as a bout to decide the number one contender, it does make perfect sense.

Topics: Colby Covington, Jorge Masvidal, UFC News, MMA News, UFC, Australia, MMA, Dana White

Max Sherry

Max Sherry is a journalist for SPORTbible Australia. After migrating Down Under from London as a teenager, he instantly fell in love with Aussie sport and its culture. From NRL to AFL, cricket to rugby — you name it, Max watches it (with a beer in hand, of course). During his time at Fox Sports, he worked in the football department covering the Premier League, A-League, Socceroos and Matildas. Born a stone's throw away from West Ham's training ground, Max is obviously a die-hard Liverpool fan.

@maxysherry