The fights that made Jorge Masvidal a UFC superstar
UFC veteran Jorge Masvidal is just days away from competing in his first ever world title fight.
The man known as ''Gamebred'' has been fighting inside the UFC octagon for over seven years. His debut was a decision victory over Tim Means back in April 2013.
It has taken Jorge Masvidal 48 fights to be able to say he will contest for a world title in the sport. He has been in the sports biggest organisations including Bellator and the former company Strikeforce.
This Saturday night he will look to dethrone reigning welterweight champion Kamaru Usman. The 33-year-old has been on top of the 170Ib division since last March when he dominated and outpointed Tyron Woodley to win the belt.
In the meantime, Jorge Masvidal has been on a tear of his on in the welterweight division. In the space of a year he went from being regarded as a ''journeyman'' to being one of the hottest names in the sport and producing some spectacular performances along on the way.
Jorge Masvidal scores a huge upset knockout over Darren Till
If there was anybody who felt that Jorge Masvidal would get the result he did on the night he came to Britain, you could probably count on one hand from the entire MMA community who predicted it.
In early 2019, Darren Till was looking to get back with a win to rebound from his failed attempt at winning the UFC 170Ib title from Tyron Woodley. He was venting his frustrations about opponents not being willing to fight him at the time.
Masvidal was planning his own comeback to the sport after a year layoff. He had suffered back to back losses to Demian Maia and Stephen Thompson and was left completely out of sight from the top guys in the division.
Till and Masvidal agreed to fight over Twitter, and the fight was booked for March 16th in London.
In the fight, Till dropped Masvidal in the first round and it looked likely that he would finish the fight, but Masvidal recovered and in the second round, stunned Till's home fans with a huge knockout. The win awarded him knockout and performance of the night bonuses.
Jorge Masvidal knocks out Ben Askren in the quickest knockout in UFC history
For obvious reasons, this fight will go down as Masvidal's most famous career moment.
Going into the fight, Jorge Masvidal was coming off the back of a crushing second round knockout against Darren Till. He was pitted against the undefeated Ben Askren, who had just joined the UFC after dominating the 170Ib weight class in both Bellator and One Championship.
Masvidal was the underdog with many going into the fight. Askren was viewed as the best welterweight in the world that had never stepped foot into the UFC at this point.
In just five seconds, Masvidal landed a huge flying knee that knocked Askren out. A win that stunned the world and announced Masvidal as one of the sports biggest names.
Jorge Masvidal breaks down and stops Nate Diaz to claim the BMF title at Madison Square Garden
At UFC 244, Jorge Masvidal would headline his first ever pay-per-view event. He would fight Nate Diaz for the inaugural BMF title. The title was confirmed by UFC president Dana White to be a ''one and done'' opportunity and would not be defended.
The fight itself had huge anticipation from fight fans. Both Masvidal and Diaz were street fighters, both had huge followings at the point they would meet in the octagon, and deliver nothing but violence.
Despite the huge expectation on the bout itself, Jorge Masvidal dominated Nate Diaz in every single round before eventually the referee halted the fight after the third round. Diaz had a huge cut around his eye and the doctor deemed him unable to continue the bout.