Jorge Masvidal: I put Colby Covington through trauma during training sessions

Once upon a time, Colby Covington and Jorge Masvidal were good friends and training partners at American Top Team (ATT). But like many mixed martial arts (MMA) bonds that were once tight, the glue was undone once both men starting having success inside the Octagon.

See Jon Jones and Rashad Evans.

Covington has gone on to win the interim Welterweight title and will face division king, Kamaru Usman, in the headlining act of UFC 245 on Dec. 14, 2019. Meanwhile, Masvidal has had a career resurrection as of late, winning three straight via knockout, including his most recent victory over Nate Diaz at UFC 244 to win the “BMF” title.

Along the way, the relationship between Covington and Masvidal soured, and the two men started exchanging verbal jabs on social media. For “Gambred” — a man who prides himself in keeping it real at all times — Covington’s tactics simply don’t come off as authentic.

Furthermore, he feels the only reason Covington attacks him — and several other fighters — is to gain the traction and boost he needs to shine the spotlight on himself since he is unable to do it on his own merit.

“He can’t generate attention by himself so he has to mention your name, this guy’s name, that guy’s name, ‘all these guys are on steroids,’ there’s no proof, no validation to what he’s saying,” Masvidal told Yahoo Sports (transcription via BJPenn.com). “That’s just the type of person he is so once he opened his mouth, I’m not going to keep mine shut.”

During their training sessions at ATT, Masvidal says he put it on “Chaos,” which is why he now has to deal with trauma moving forward.

“The guy has his wires crossed, especially when it comes to me. He got to train with me a little bit so you can imagine the trauma I put him through,” he said.

While Masvidal could be in line to face the winner of Usman vs Covington, it’s not a foregone conclusion that it will happen. That’s because Masvidal is eying bigger fights against the likes of Nate Diaz and Conor McGregor. Furthermore, he isn’t too impressed with either Usman or Covington’s bodies of work as of late.

“I got into this sport to separate myself from the pack and beat the crap out of guys. Those guys don’t do it. What I did this year, I got three stoppages. They haven’t done that their whole career.

“This is math speaking, this is not opinion,” Masvidal continued. “You can look it up. What I’ve done this year, they haven’t done their whole careers.”