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Anthony Smith has suggested that Jorge Masvidal was mentally drained before his grudge match against Colby Covington. Masvidal was dominantly outwrestled by ‘Chaos’ at UFC 272 this past weekend. 'Gamebred' ended up losing the fight via a lopsided unanimous decision.
Smith recently appeared on The Fight with Teddy Atlas podcast to discuss UFC 272 and much more. ‘Lionheart’ chimed in on the buildup to the Masvidal-Covington fight and stated:
“He was just different. He didn’t look like he was having as much fun. He looked like his fuse was just really close to exploding, but he was trying to control it. So, maybe he went a little bit the opposite direction, trying to calm his nerves. And I don’t think Masvidal was afraid of Colby Covington. I don’t think Jorge was nervous. I think that deep down he knew there was a low chance that he gets this win without a spectacular finish, and it has to be early.”
Anthony Smith noted that the aforementioned factor did affect Jorge Masvidal’s performance against Colby Covington. Nevertheless, the former UFC title challenger alluded to a point Chael Sonnen made regarding Covington’s trash talk having adversely affected Masvidal.
Smith reiterated that the stress and fatigue Masvidal experienced, particularly from a mental and emotional perspective, hurt him. He indicated that Covington knew several personal details about 'Gamebred' and used this to direct extremely personal insults at him.
He believes that as bad and embarrassing as the loss against Covington might feel, Masvidal is probably relieved that the fight is over. Smith added:
“And I think it affected him. I really do. I think he got in there. And I think he was emotionally and just mentally exhausted.”
Watch Anthony Smith's appearance on Teddy Atlas' podcast below:
Michael Bisping on Jorge Masvidal’s state of mind heading into Colby Covington fight
In a video posted to his YouTube channel, Michael Bisping provided an insight into Jorge Masvidal’s mindset going into his fight against Colby Covington. Bisping highlighted that Masvidal was irate due to Covington’s incessant trash talk about his ex-wife and children.
Masvidal insinuated that his 13-year-old daughter came across Covington’s statements on social media and was resultantly put in an awkward situation. Bisping said:
"They can't f****** stand one another. I just talked to Jorge for about 25 minutes. He has this look in his eyes like he wants to absolutely murder the guy.”
Watch Michael Bisping talk about Jorge Masvidal's pre-fight state of mind below:
Masvidal now finds himself on a three-fight losing streak and it’s unknown as to who he’ll face next. Meanwhile, Covington called out another former teammate, Dustin Poirier, soon after his win over 'Gamebred'.
