Jorge Masvidal fires back at Colby Covington’s retirement, predicting he’ll be “forgotten pretty soon”

Colby Covington’s retirement announcement in May has already sparked loud reactions across the UFC’s welterweight scene, and none has been more cutting than Jorge Masvidal’s. In comments reported by Yahoo Sports on June 18, Masvidal dismissed Covington’s legacy, saying he would be “forgotten pretty soon,” framing the end of the career as something the sport would move past quickly.

Covington informed the UFC of his decision to retire from MMA competition, according to the report. At the time of the retirement, he was listed with a 17-5 mixed martial arts record and a 12-5 UFC mark. The decision ends a run that kept him near the center of UFC’s most watched division, often through high-volume promotions of himself and his fights.

Masvidal and Covington share a history defined less by mutual respect and more by escalation. Over the years, their relationship moved from former friendship to bitter opposition, culminating in them meeting inside the cage. The rivalry was notable not just for the fight itself, but for how personal and public it became, changing the tone of what fans associated with both men in the welterweight title picture.

The animosity did not stop when the cage violence ended. The same Yahoo Sports report notes that Covington filed a lawsuit tied to the rivalry, underscoring that the dispute stretched beyond the Octagon. That detail matters because it suggests the retirement is not merely a career milestone, but a closing chapter to a long-running feud that spilled into areas normally reserved for business disputes.

Masvidal’s critique also lands in the broader UFC conversation about legacies. Welterweight has produced a mix of champions and challengers who were remembered for titles, others for durability, and still others for how they defined fights and storylines. When a leading figure publicly minimizes an opponent’s long-term standing, it feeds the sport’s debate about who is remembered for results and who is remembered for attention.

For fans, the most immediate takeaway is that retirement does not quiet rivalries in the UFC ecosystem. The report highlights how former opponents can keep shaping the narrative after a fighter steps away, using public comments to influence how the next chapter is understood. Even if Covington is no longer competing, the public debate over what he accomplished is likely to persist.

Next to watch is whether the UFC or other fighters respond directly to Masvidal’s comments, and whether either man reframes their rivalry in future interviews. With Covington retired and Masvidal still positioned as one of the most recognizable voices from the division’s recent era, the sport’s welterweight storylines could continue to orbit their past, even without their active participation.