Jorge Masvidal celebrates with an expletive-laden tirade outside a Miami courthouse after taking a plea deal following his brawl with UFC rival Colby Covington last year: ‘I’m a free man
UFC star Jorge Masvidal celebrated being a “free f***ing man” outside a Miami courtroom on Monday after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor charge as part of a deal with Florida prosecutors related to his brawl with Colby Covington last year.
It means he will serve no jail time or probation after Masvidal attacked his former friend Covington outside a Miami Beach restaurant in March 2022.
Their street fight came less than three weeks after they fought in the UFC – which Covington won by unanimous decision.
Covington suffered a broken tooth and a concussion after being “bumped” twice by Masvidal late at night, police said Fox sports at the time. He also received a blow to the eye.
But on Monday, Masvidal, along with his attorney Bradford Cohen, pleaded guilty to a solitary battery charge in a Miami court.
UFC star Jorge Masvidal celebrated being a ‘free f***ing man’ outside a Miami court on Monday
Covington (right) took a lopsided unanimous decision over Masvidal (left) weeks earlier.
As a result, two other charges – for aggravated assault and criminal mischief – were dropped.
The welterweight had faced a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison and/or a $10,000 fine for the aggravated assault charge, plus possible further penalties for the mischief charge.
While celebrating outside the courthouse on Monday, Masvidal erupted into a tirade while standing next to Cohen.
He posted a message on Instagram: ‘Just beat the case. I want to thank God and I want to thank this man (Cohen) because I am a free man. F*** you Colby. It’s going to be a fucking movie now.
“All these orders, all these restraining orders have been revoked. It’s going to be a fucking movie now.
“Thanks Brad, God bless. If you get into trouble, this is the man here. I’m telling you. Undefeated in this courtroom.”
Covington claimed a dominant unanimous decision victory over Masvidal – his former roommate – on March 5, 2022 at UFC 272 in Las Vegas.
But just weeks later, the pair went toe-to-toe again outside Papi Steak restaurant in Miami Beach late that evening.
Video of the altercation showed Masvidal shouting, “Don’t talk about my kids,” as he was prevented from getting closer to Covington.
What exactly Covington said about Masvidal’s children is still unclear.
Covington, 35, and Masvidal, 38, got into an argument outside the Papi Steak restaurant in Miami Beach
Covington was overheard in the video saying, “He’s out here waving and trying to come at me, and I ran out the back of the room.” He then turned to social media star and podcast host Bob Menery and asked, “How does he even know I’m here?”
Earlier that day, Menery shared a video to his Instagram Story featuring Covington and the group’s venue, Papi Steak. Menery called Covington “the king of mother damn Miami” and wrote, “@papisteak is that spotttttttt.”
Masvidal then took to Twitter and added his own message while tagging Covington.
Masvidal posted an image of the damage caused by Colby Covington’s eye poke during their fight at UFC 272
“You call this the show-your-face challenge, you know? Um, what’s up? I’m from Dade County,” Masvidal said.
‘If you talk that nonsense, you have to support it. That’s how my city rolls, man.’
Menery later tweeted the following: ‘Never had a problem with (Masvidal). Very disappointed with the way he decided to handle his ongoing ‘beef’ which has already been decided on a regulated platform. @ufc.’
Masvidal was critical of Covington after he suffered an apparent eye poke during their UFC fight – which is illegal in MMA.
Fighters are usually given up to five minutes to recover from such incidents if the referee sees it, but this time it went unnoticed.
Masvidal later revealed the severity of the eye injury in a photo on social media.
“I almost put my eyes out, good thing you cheated, see you soon,” Masvidal wrote.