Last Saturday night, in the main event of UFC London, Jorge Masvidal burst into title contention with a stunning knockout of Darren Till. The knockout was so impressive that Ali Abdelaziz, who manages UFC welterweight champ Kamaru Usman, now wants his fighter to take on Masvidal next instead of Colby Covington. Just spoke to UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman's manager Ali Abdelaziz: "We think Jorge Masvidal deserves the next title shot. Not Colby Covington. Colby is a terrible person and doesn't deserve it. Jorge just knocked out Darren Till like that? He should be next." — Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) March 16, 2019 “We think Jorge Masvidal deserves the next title shot,” Abdelaziz told ESPN’s Brett Okamoto. “Not Colby Covington. Colby is a terrible person and doesn’t deserve it. Jorge just knocked out Darren Till like that? He should be next.” This comment from Ali Abdelaziz first got a response from Ben Askren, who reminded that Jorge Masvidal’s thunderous knockout win was preceded by a pair of losses. Lololol his last win before Till was a January 2017. Ali you are a fool, if Marty doesn’t want to fight Colby I would happily oblige. https://t.co/VjRb7EWesy — Funky (@Benaskren) March 17, 2019 “Lololol his last win before Till was a January 2017,” Askren wrote. “Ali you are a fool, if Marty doesn’t want to fight Colby I would happily oblige.” Abdelaziz then responded, explaining why he thinks Jorge Masvidal deserves a title shot. Masvidal finish his people Look at his whole entire career he deserve it https://t.co/Umt0RuGHxh — Ali Abdelaziz (@AliAbdelaziz00) March 17, 2019 “Masvidal [finishes] his people Look at his whole entire career he deserve it,” he wrote. Okamoto also reached out to Colby Covington for comment. The brash welterweight responded in classic fashion. Colby Covington (@ColbyCovMMA), via text, on Kamaru Usman’s manager Ali Abdelaziz saying they want Jorge Masvidal next: pic.twitter.com/XeS6mufPkH — Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) March 17, 2019 ”Nah but nothing would surprise me with that little terrorist rat after hearing from my people about how desperate he has looked the last couple weeks begging for anyone to fight Snoozeman except (me) the most deserving and Real World Champion!” Covington wrote (via MMA Mania). “I don’t blame him though because he knows I’m going to smash his meal ticket!” The key detail in all of this, of course, is that Colby Covington and Jorge Masvidal are long-time friends and training partners who happen to be closing in on a welterweight title shot at the exact same time. Who do you think deserves a shot first? This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 3/17/2019. This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM<doc-sep>Jorge Masvidal would have no issue fighting for the UFC welterweight title before his teammate and friend Colby Covington. With his knockout win over Darren Till on Saturday in the UFC London main event, Masvidal is the closest he has ever been to fighting for the 170-pound title. Till was No. 3 in the division going into the bout, while Masvidal was No. 11. Masvidal, however, trains with Covington, whom UFC president Dana White has already deemed next for new champ Kamaru Usman, at American Top Team in south Florida. That could make things interesting, but Masvidal said if offered to him, he would jump at the opportunity to fight for UFC gold — even before Covington gets his deserved shot. “Over everything, over friendships or anything, is my kids — and obviously fighting for that belt is my kids’ future,” Masvidal told ESPN after his win over Till. “It doesn’t sound too nice, but if my mom had the belt, she better give it up because my kids gotta eat. If I’m willing to fight my mom, imagine a good friend. That’s no disrespect to Colby. He’s done great things in the sport and he’s still young, so he’s going to do many great things. But if they offer me a title shot, damn right I’m taking it.” Usman’s manager Ali Abdelaziz said after UFC London that he believes Masvidal, not Covington, deserves the next 170-pound title shot — a sentiment that Masvidal agrees with. “My body of work speaks for itself,” Masvidal said. ... “I think it’s only right I’m fighting for the title.” It should be noted that Abdelaziz called for Ben Askren to fight Usman for the title following UFC 235. In response to Abdelaziz’s mention of “Funky,” Covington told Bloody Elbow that he wasn’t worried about what Abdelaziz had to say. Usman beat Tyron Woodley for the welterweight title at UFC 235 in Las Vegas. During the fourth-round of the title fight, White told Covington that he would be getting the winner of the bout, according to Covington. When reached for comment, Covington said he is only thinking about his impending bout against Usman. He said he is “not in the least bit” concerned about Masvidal’s title hopes. “Not much to talk about,” Covington told Bloody Elbow via text. “I’m only focused on Marty Snoozeman right now. I’m happy for Jorge, coach Mike Brown and also Dan Lambert and American Top Team. But we found out how over-hyped Darrel the Doughboy really was.” With the victory over Till, Masvidal returned to the winning column after a two-fight skid dating back to May 2017. He hadn’t won since a January 2017 TKO of Donald Cerrone.<doc-sep>
Kamaru Usman and Colby Covington really don’t like each other. While there’s ample proof from past press conferences and interviews, you don’t have to look further back than UFC 235, when the two needed to be kept apart by security after Usman’s title win. The two would later get into an altercation at a Palms Casino buffet line, with Usman’s manager Ali Abdelaziz taking a swing at Colby. Now normally in situations like this, the guys involved can’t wait to legally punch each other in the face and get paid for it. But in some situations, the really punishing thing to do to another fighter you hate is refuse to fight them. That may be the route Usman and Abdelaziz are taking with this news that came out after fellow welterweight Jorge Masvidal smashed Darren Till in London Saturday night. Just spoke to UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman's manager Ali Abdelaziz: "We think Jorge Masvidal deserves the next title shot. Not Colby Covington. Colby is a terrible person and doesn't deserve it. Jorge just knocked out Darren Till like that? He should be next." — Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) March 16, 2019 Via ESPN, Abdelaziz said “We think Jorge Masvidal deserves the next title shot. Not Colby Covington. Colby is a terrible person and doesn’t deserve it. Jorge just knocked out Darren Till like that? He should be next.” Ali backed that report up, making his case on Twitter and responding to detractors like Ben Askren. Be careful with the word my man https://t.co/e4HphHRzwR — Ali Abdelaziz (@AliAbdelaziz00) March 17, 2019 Ali denied it was just an attempt to drive a wedge between Colby and Jorge, who are both teammates and good friends. Masvidal finish his people Look at his whole entire career he deserve it https://t.co/Umt0RuGHxh — Ali Abdelaziz (@AliAbdelaziz00) March 17, 2019 ESPN’s Brett Okamoto reached out to Colby Covington to see if he’d heard about the latest drama potentially threatening his ‘confirmed’ title shot against Usman. Colby Covington (@ColbyCovMMA), via text, on Kamaru Usman’s manager Ali Abdelaziz saying they want Jorge Masvidal next: pic.twitter.com/XeS6mufPkH — Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) March 17, 2019 ”Nah but nothing would surprise me with that little terrorist rat after hearing from my people about how desperate he has looked the last couple weeks begging for anyone to fight Snoozeman except (me) the most deserving and Real World Champion!” Covington wrote. “I don’t blame him though because he knows I’m going to smash his meal ticket!” What do you think, Maniacs? Is this just head games or are we watching Colby Covington’s title shot aspirations go up in flames once again?