Jorge Masvidal lived through his childhood to adolescence with a hard life as a punk before a career at UFC.
Masvidal will face Kamaru Usman at UFC 251 on Fight Island this weekend.
He is the son of a Cuban immigrant, Jorge Masvidal Senior, who immigrated to the United States in 1971.
The father worked as a building reed. But in 1989, Senior Masvidal was arrested by federal police for drugs. At that time Masvidal Junior was still four years old.
After that until the age of 13, he lived with his mother on the outskirts of Miami. Mama Dukes, that’s how she used to call her mother.
Young masvidal used to sell bread to help the mother meet their daily needs.
Masvidal and his mother used to live in flats that have been eaten by age. You could say, a number of facilities are not feasible. The elevators of the flat are often broken so he usually goes up the stairs five floors to their house.
“I didn’t know that it was often a complaint, but once a month the elevator didn’t work. Maybe that’s what makes me good at running up the stairs,” Masvidal said in a special interview with ESPN.
Everybody who follows his career knows well, Masvidal is a delinquent who has a career at UFC.
Where he lived in the slums of Miami City, you could say the first time he was forged into a fighter. Countless times he was involved in a commotion there from childhood to adolescence.
“This is where I began to realize when it comes to fighting. There are different things about me compared to other people,” explained Masvidal.
Former fighter and UFC observer, Chael Sonnen, once told Masvidal’s brutal life as a teenager. He revealed, Masvidal had knocked down three men at the bar at once.
“Now if you hear the story [of beating three people in a bar] you find the story a lie, unless the man is Masvidal.”
“Jorge was in a club using a gold necklace. Two men who did not know immediately approached him. One of them flicked the necklace,” explained Sonnen quoted from the South China Morning Post.
Sonnen continued, Masvidal felt his necklace would be robbed so he immediately attacked the men.
“He beat the man who touched his necklace. He then sent a hook and punch to another man until he fell.
“He could go to the bathroom, then there was another man who tried to attack from behind. He turned and hit him until he fell apart,” explained Sonnen.
Masvidal’s name is not as flashy as other UFC stars like Khabib Nurmagomedov, Nate Diaz, or Conor McGregor. In 2019, he was only once made headlines in the UFC battle.
His debut is also not too special. On November 28, 2015, Masvidal only won split decision results against Benson Henderson.
After losing the next battle, he won three times in a row. On January 28, 2017, Masvidal brutally lost TKO to Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone.
In total, he has fought 48 times in all mixed martial arts (MMA) events. Of that amount, he won 35 wins with a record of 16 KOs, 17 winning numbers, and two submissions.
Masvidal was indeed not a fighter who relied on battles below. He is a fighter who relies on boxing and kickboxing techniques.