Jorge Masvidal is one of the longest-active fighters in the UFC. While his rise to the mainstream happened in 2019, Masvidal is one of the oldest fighters in the promotion. Not by age, but by experience. UFC 261 will be Masvidal’s 50th walk to a cage as a professional fighter, which gives him the opportunity to reach the pinnacle of the sport in his pro bout.

Masvidal has been a loyalist to American Top Team, one of the most reputed MMA gyms in America. The gym is led by Mike Brown, who has coached seven fighters who became world champions in the UFC. But Masvidal winning may be the most special achievement of his career.

“I would say 90 percent of MMA fans are gonna rejoice and be super pumped,” Brown said. “This is the story everybody wants to hear. This is a guy who has put in the time more than anybody, a guy with more than 50 fights and fought for peanuts for years and years and was always so skilled, and sometimes a little bit of luck is involved with how things fall. Finally he catches a couple of breaks and, boom, here he is now, one of the biggest stars in the sport and ready to win the UFC title after 50 fights.

“It’s like the craziest journey of any fighter ever, and it’s gonna be something special. It’ll be the most special night of my coaching career for sure, and I can’t wait.”

Jorge Masvidal: Can he get the job done against Kamaru Usman?

Jorge Masvidal has been working his entire life to get to the UFC title. However, he got there at UFC 251 against Kamaru Usman. But the scales were heavily tilted against Masvidal, as he took the fight on six days’ notice and made a trans-Atlantic journey to get to Abu Dhabi. He was noticeably gassed during the bout, but still put up a good fight.

READ MORE: ‘I Would Finish Him in the First Round’- Jorge Masvidal Says Kamaru Usman Wouldn’t Have Lasted if Roles Were Reversed at UFC 251

Masvidal has elite kickboxing ability and must have had time to work on his takedown defense. If he can stay out of the clinch and damage Usman from a distance, he has a real shot at becoming champion. Considering the power he packs, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Masvidal pull off an upset and become UFC Champion.

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