Masvidal: Covington's a--hole persona all real

Warning: Story contains coarse language

Colby Covington's rise since calling Brazilian fans "filthy animals" last October has been mired in controversy as the welterweight contender has been accused of basing his character on Conor McGregor and Chael Sonnen.

However, Covington's teammate at American Top Team and former housemate Jorge Masvidal says it's all real.

"He's an asshole," Masvidal said while laughing on "The MMA Hour" on Monday. "He's a motherfucking asshole. He can be a fucking prick, you know, especially with chicks. Not that he's a woman hater, but he's cocky as fuck.

"If you don't know him well, he can come off wrong to you - kinda like what we've seen online."

Masvidal says he and Covington, who will battle Rafael dos Anjos for the interim welterweight title in June, have always been friends and theorized it's because "maybe I'm an asshole in a different type of way."

Several fighters have taken issue with Covington's persona, words, and actions on social media in the last few months, saying the 30-year-old is being disingenuous and trying too hard to make a name for himself. Covington recently detailed to BJ Penn Radio what makes him different from the other loud-mouthed combatants.

"People, they wanna say I'm mimicking McGregor, I'm mimicking Chael Sonnen," Covington said. "I'm not trying to be anything like them. Does it look like I'm trying to get followers or I'm trying to get fans? I don't care. I'm not trying to make people happy. I don't care. You're gonna be mad, but you will tune in to see me fight 'cause you wanna see me lose.

"At the end of the day, all these people that wanna say I'm trying to mimic another person, no. I'm unique in my own way. No one's ever done and went the route I've went, full supervillain here."