Masvidal/Covington Court Update: Trial Date Set, Other Developments
Jorge Masvidal’s trial date for charges associated with his alleged battery of Colby Covington is set for August 29 following a pre-trial hearing on August 17.
Masvidal’s attorney, Bradford Cohen, appeared before Judge Zachary James of Florida’s 11th Circuit Court on Thursday in Miami. Masvidal was not in attendance.
Masvidal allegedly assaulted Covington outside the Papi Steak Restaurant in Miami just weeks after they attempted to settle their score inside the Octagon at UFC 273.
Masvidal, who was later arrested for the incident, allegedly sucker-punched Covington from behind, leaving the former interim welterweight champion with a chipped tooth. Masvidal appeared to put the attack down to the personal insults that “Chaos” directed his way in the build-up to their fight.
After Covington chose to pursue legal punishment, “Gamebred” was charged with aggravated battery and criminal mischief. After being arrested by Miami Beach Police, Masvidal posted a bond of $5,000 and was released.
During Thursday’s proceedings, the following motions were requested by Cohen (h/t MMA Junkie).
A motion for the defense to inspect Covington’s watch to verify its authenticity and value was granted. The alleged damages to the watch are connected to the criminal mischief charge that Masvidal faces.
Cohen also motioned to subpoena all third-party footage of the alleged incident. The judge denied this motion. However, Cohen will reach out to all parties in possession of the footage and the defense must refile should they decide to follow through on the subpoena.
A motion requesting access to past medical records and an immediate evaluation was delayed. The delay is due to the defense still attempting to gain access to the emergency-room records in association with the incident. However, Cohen was lenient on the immediacy of the evaluation because “Some of these fighters walk around with concussions, so I don’t know if it needs to be immediate,” Cohen said.
Lastly, a motion to strike on the basis of “failure to report to any authority” was denied without prejudice.
Last month, Masvidal was issued a stay-away order by Judge James. With that, the 37-year-old is required to remain at least 25 feet away from Covington, 500 feet beyond his residence, and is prohibited from contacting him directly or indirectly.
The stay-away order was reportedly put in place after Covington admitted to being in “fear” of his former American Top Team training partner following the street attack. Should Masvidal violate the order, his conditional release will be subject to assessment.
Also, while the initial police report listed a chipped tooth and damage to a watch worn by Covington at the time of the incident, the now-updated charges claim that the former interim UFC welterweight champion suffered “brain damage” as a result of Masvidal’s strike.
The updated charge now says that on March 21, Masvidal committed aggravated battery by striking Covington “with a deadly weapon, to wit: HAND(S) or FIST(S) and/or did knowingly and intentionally cause great bodily harm, to wit: BRAIN INJURY …” (h/t MMA Junkie)
MMA News will keep you updated on this developing story.
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Masvidal/Covington Court Update: Trial Date Set, Other Developments
