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Update 3:30 p.m. ET: Masvidal has been charged with felony assault of Covington, whose name has been shielded by Marsy’s Law in Florida as a victim of a crime.
Masvidal engaged in what appears to be an ambush attack outside the restaurant. The police have also obtained security camera footage which should help to shed more light on what happened.
Masvidal is alleged to have said “you shouldn’t have been talking about my kids” while the assault took place.
Miami Beach Police confirm to me an incident occurred last night involving Jorge Masvidal outside Papi Steak, in which a victim alleges he was punched twice in the face, resulting in a chipped tooth and wrist abrasion. Full details from police report coming to @MMAJunkie.
— Nolan King (@mma_kings) March 22, 2022
Update 1:11 a.m. ET: TMZ posted video showing Colby Covington surrounded by police approximately 30 minutes after his alleged altercation with Jorge Masvidal.
Update 1:01 a.m. ET: Masvidal posted this on his Instagram stories also tagging Covington. Language and music NSFW:
Jorge Masvidal posted the following on his instragram story calling out colby covington after fight in restaurant #ufc pic.twitter.com/7rqCcAK86h
— Gian Carlo✌ (@GianCarloo18) March 22, 2022
Update 12:08 a.m. ET: Masvidal just posted a video on Twitter calling out Covington:
@ColbyCovMMA pic.twitter.com/IPUp61ICV1
— Jorge Masvidal UFC (@GamebredFighter) March 22, 2022
South Florida sports talk host Andy Slater reports UFC welterweights have gotten into a fight at hotspot Miami Beach restaurant Papi Steak and that the police have been called.
SLATER SCOOP: UFC stars Colby Covington and Jorge Masvidal got into a fight moments ago at Papi Steak restaurant in Miami Beach.
— Andy Slater (@AndySlater) March 22, 2022
Police have been called.
The two rivals last fought on March 5, with Covington winning by unanimous decision and plenty of bad blood still between them even after the bout. Masvidal was born in the Miami-area and still lives there, while the former Oregon State wrestler Covington also has a residence in South Florida.
Papi Steak is a hotspot in Miami Beach’s “South of Fifth” neighborhood filled with chic, upscale establishments. Whether it was coincidence both happened to be in the same place at the same time or if this was a planned encounter is still unknown.
Covington is the No. 1 ranked welterweight in the world, but has already lost twice to the reigning champion Kamaru Usman in two attempts.