Jorge “Gamebred” Masvidal is one of the most entertaining fighters in the UFC today. The Miami native holds the record for the fastest knockout in UFC history at 5 seconds. If that wasn’t impressive enough the knockout was by flying knee to the head, something that only seems effective in movies. This feat is hard to do in round 5, but he somehow put his opponent to sleep in the 1st round.

While no one can deny his success in the past years, his relevance is now based on his antics outside of the ring. The hot-headed attitude of this mixed martial artist has gained him a lot of attention both in his early days and now. His reputation for not letting disrespect go unpunished isn’t foreign to professional MMA fighters. Quite a few Fighters have a history of getting entangled with the law, but there aren’t many that take it as far as Gamebred.

Masvidal was taken into police custody on March 23 after an altercation with a fellow welterweight contender, Colby Covington. Web sources say Masvidal struck him outside of a steakhouse in Miami. Allegedly there were two punches thrown; one in the eye and in the mouth, causing Covington to lose a tooth. After Covington ran away from the altercation, he called the police, and Masvidal was taken to jail. The charges against him were considered felonies and he was released on a $15,000 bail. 

The Floridian’s upbringing makes him no stranger to street fights. As a matter of fact, that’s how he got discovered by the UFC. Masvidal was fighting in the same backyards as combat legend Kimbo Slice. Kimbo was a mentor to young Street Jesus [Masvidal] and took him under his wing. This style of backyard scrapping shaped him as a fighter and put him in the same position as many famous UFC legends like Eddie Alvarez and Ken Shamrock. These guys also started fighting on the street and were the foundation of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. 

So why is this situation different? It’s assault, plain and simple. These fighters have contracts and are given rules and regulations. Professional fighting and street fighting are two very different things. These people fight for a living. Watching the sport from afar makes it look entertaining and some would say easy, but these people are getting trained to hurt other people and on the street, there is no referee. There is no one to stop a street fight when things get ugly. 

Masvidal doesn’t get to act like a gangster without consequences. This is yet another instance of fame and money alleviating celebrities from the proper punishment for delinquency.