Jorge Masvidal mugshot (MMA Junkie)
UFC welterweight Jorge Masvidal was officially given a stay away order from his bitter rival Colby Covington even as he pleaded not guilty
The biggest news last month in combat sports was when Jorge Masvidal attacked his nemesis, Colby Covington, at a restaurant in Miami. ‘Gamebred’ has since been arrested, released, and in legal turmoil.
Masvidal appeared at the session with his legal team via Zoom and made a verbal plea of not guilty for Judge Zachary L. James at the Eleventh Judicial Circuit of Florida in Miami on Thursday morning.
The 37-year-old faces two separate felony charges related to the alleged attack against Covington. The grave situation in the charge is aggravated battery, which according to court documents states Masvidal struck Covington with a deadly weapon that caused great bodily injury. Colby released a statement describing the attack as a “brain injury.”
Masvidal along with his entourage attacked Covington from behind at Papi Steak House in Miami, covered in a hoodie and wearing a mask. Colby immediately called the cops, and, Masvidal was arrested.
Masvidal is also facing a felony criminal mischief charge after Covington told police that $15,000 worth of damage was done to a $90,000 Rolex that he was wearing during the altercation. In Florida, criminal mischief with damages over $1,000 is considered a third-degree felony. “Gamebred” was arrested a couple of days later, was released on $15,000 bond, and entered a written plea of not guilty, along with a demand for a trial by jury.
Going into the fight agaisnt Covington at UFC 272, Masvidal had a vengeful fire in his belly to inflict serious damage to his opponent for dragging his family into their personal rivalry. However, things didn’t go his way and he has been on a social hiatus since then.
“I was f* irate,” Masvidal said. “I was upset, and I just like to be in isolation when I get like that. It’s better for me. Take a couple days to figure it out and if I have a problem and I can’t figure it out, f, then it’s a real problem. I could fail at something, but if I could find a way to fix it, then I can go back and address it again, then I can sleep with peace at night. So that’s what I did — five, six days in that nowhere land, like, ‘F*,’ and then I came up with a plan, and now I’m gonna execute that plan.”
“With wrestlers, when they take me out of my element, and they’re able to keep pressing that hugging game, even when I do bring it to a neutral, I’m like, ‘F***, I spent a lot of extra power doing that.’ So knowing these things, I have a slight different plan and formula going forward to address these problems that I’ve had most of my career with the f*** wrestlers.
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