UFC beef taken to South Beach steakhouse? Masvidal charged with battery on Covington
Just over two weeks after losing a UFC fight to former friend now arch rival Colby Covington, Kendall’s Jorge Masvidal is accused of cracking Covington’s tooth after cracking him with a couple of sucker punches.
Masvidal, 37, has been charged with battery and criminal mischief over $1,000. He’s been released from Miami-Dade Corrections custody after posting $15,000 bond and pleaded not guilty to both charges. Online court records say Masvidal is represented by David Kubiliun.
Social media and an arrest report place the incident outside Papi Steak, 760 First St. in Miami Beach, around 11 p.m. Monday night. That was a few hours after Miami Beach declared a “state of emergency” after consecutive nights of shootings during spring break. Sports radio host Andy Slater reported the confrontation first on his Twitter feed within a half hour after it happened.
In the ring, where Covington usually leaves less injured than his opponent, the MMA star isn’t shy about promoting himself. But, as the victim in this case, he invoked Marsy’s Law, a state statute that permits police to shield his name. That’s why Miami Beach police redacted Covington’s name and information on the arrest report, which it posted to Twitter late Wednesday night.
That report says Covington was leaving Papi Steak with a group when Masvidal “ran up to him from his left and, without notice, punched him with a closed fist two times in the face.”
While connecting with Covington’s mouth and left eye, Masvidal allegedly said, “You shouldn’t have been talking about my kids.”
As Covington saw “three or four other unknown males approaching him in an aggressive manner,” the report said, he pushed one and “ran back into the Papi Steak restaurant, where he contacted police.”
Covington suffered a fractured left front tooth. He told police he could recognize Masvidal through the blue surgical mask and hoodie.
Masvidal tweeted Tuesday morning, “Good morning to everybody except those that think talking about someone’s kids is cool.”
This story was originally published March 24, 2022 at 11:13 AM.
