Fighting Outside the Octagon

With mixed martial arts, tempers often run high between combatants. In the case of Colby Covington and Jorge Masvidal, their feud wasn’t settled by Covington’s decisive decision at UFC 272 on March 5, 2022. Covington’s trash talk leading up the fight was fierce regarding his thoughts on Masvidal, who used to be his training partner.

Online casino betting showed that Covington was a heavy favorite when the two met in a legally sanctioned fight. However, when it came to their fight outside a Miami steakhouse, there was no way to properly handicap the outcome. Masvidal reportedly landed two punches during March 21 and will likely now face a fascinating fight with the legal system. Here’s a look at some other UFC fighters who traded hands outside of the octagon.

I’m sure that bouncer was tough

Dillon Danis had two career MMA fights in Bellator, submission victories in 2018 and 2019, but he is best known for chaos that happened outside of the octagon. He was part of the famous melee between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Connor McGregor following their fight in October 2020. However, that isn’t the scrap outside the octagon he is most famous for, as security mostly stopped Khabib from getting to Danis in Las Vegas.

Danis, who is best known for being a training partner of McGregor and a grappling specialist, was involved in an incident in a New Jersey bar in September 2021. After being asked for identification, Danis refused and became agitated for a bouncer. A physical confrontation ensued, which resulted in Danis being arrested and being put in a rear naked choke by the bouncer. Not a great look for a grappling specialist.

Shirtless street fight

BJ Penn is a UFC Hall of Famer that didn’t get out of the fight game nearly soon enough. Penn, who once set a UFC record for most Lightweight title defenses with three, hasn’t won a fight in the octagon since 2010 and is 0-7-1 over his past eight fights. His most humiliating loss may have come in a street in Hawaii in 2019.

There was an incident where Penn was involved in a bar fight that spilled out in the street. Two videos were posted of the incident, the first showed Penn being pulled off the other person after landing several punches. In the second video, Penn seems to be taunting the other individual to hit him again when Penn got tagged on the chin and was knocked unconscious onto the pavement. Penn hasn’t fought in the UFC since May 11, 2019, when he lost a unanimous decision to Clay Guida at UFC 237.

Robbing the wrong person

Polyana Viana, a 5-foot-7 Brazilian UFC fighter, was waiting for an Uber in January 2019 around Rio De Janeiro. A mugger came up to her and demanded her phone. He said for her to not try anything because he was armed.

Viana didn’t waste time waiting to find out if he was or not. Viana threw two punches and a kick, knocking the mugger to the ground. She quickly locked him in a choke hold and called for police. The police were able to arrest him. 

Viana has since fought in the UFC four times, compiling a 2-2 record. Her most recent fight was a submission victory over Mallory Martin at UFC 258 on Feb. 13, 2021.

Three piece and a soda

Masvidal has a history of responding to words with violence. Following a London UFC fight card, Masvidal was doing an interview when Leon Edwards interrupted. Masvidal stopped doing the interview with Lauren Sanko to confront Edwards.

When Masvidal approached Edwards, he asked him to say it to his face. When Masvidal walked over to Edwards, he fired off a combination of punches that connected with Edwards. Before Edwards could respond in kind, the scuffle was quickly broken up by bystanders. Masvidal remarked later that he gave Edwards “a three piece and a soda.”

Masvidal and Edwards were supposed to fight at UFC 269, but Masvidal pulled out with an injury. It is unlikely the two will ever be paired again in the Octagon. Edwards is on a nine-fight winning streak and looking for a title shot, while Masvidal has lost his last three fights.