‘He wants Colby’: Masvidal plots course for Florida showdown with bitter UFC rival Covington

Abraham Kawa, manager of UFC star Jorge Masvidal, says that his fighter is eyeing a high stakes showdown with former training partner Colby Covington after petitioning Florida governor Ron DeSantis to host the fight in his state.

Masvidal and Covington have been set on a collision course since the former 'best friends' and American Top Team training partners' acrimonious falling out amid Covington's brash MAGA-themed style of fight promotion, but so far any moves to book what would be a blockbuster fight between the two has failed to come to fruition. 

However, that could be set to change according to a couple of tweets issued by the pair in which Kawa indicated that Masvidal is open to fighting his heated rival - and he wants it to take place in his home state of Florida. 

"The great state of Florida is open for business thanks to Gov. Ron DeSantis," Masvidal wrote on Twitter. "So let's give the people what they want."

DeSantis has been a vocal supporter of opening up sports to fan attendance in his state.

Masivdal concluded the tweet by tagging the American Airlines Arena in Florida, a presumed potential host for the fight if and when the UFC spreads its wings after narrowing their business to events in just Las Vegas and Abu Dhabi throughout the majority of the coronavirus pandemic.

And interestingly, Kawa lifted the veil on exactly what his client was getting at.

"According to sources, he wants Colby," he teased.

After a bountiful 2019 which saw Masvidal earn a trio of high profile wins against Darren Till, Ben Askren and Nate Diaz - the latter of which earned him the perpetual title of being the UFC's 'Baddest Motherf***er' - 'Gamebred' competed just once in 2020, losing a clear-cut decision after stepping in at short notice for a world title fight opposite champion Kamaru Usman. 

Covington also fought just once last year, shellacking former welterweight king Tyron Woodley in what was his first fight since losing his own world title opportunity to Usman in late 2019. 

From a business perspective, a potential Masvidal-Covington fight would seem to make sense for everyone. It gives the two fighters an opportunity to move their online, social media jawing inside the UFC's cage while also having the dual purpose of establishing a new contender in the UFC's talent-rich welterweight division.

But more than that, one suspects that it would be best for all involved to strike while the iron is hot and with the largest potential pay-per-view windfall available. The fight business can be a fickle one and if the fight is there to be made, make it lest we have another Khabib-Ferguson scenario established.