Jorge Masvidal has had an array of spectacular highlight-reel finishes throughout his career, but it took Masvidal, who’s faced top-level competition since joining the UFC roster in 2013, quite a while to finally get his shot at championship gold.
Masvidal (35-13 MMA, 12-6 UFC) moved up from 155 to 170 pounds in 2015 and, after a rocky start at welterweight, his career skyrocketed.
After suffering back-to-back losses to Demian Maia and Stephen Thompson in 2017, Masvidal went away for three months in 2018 to film a reality show in the Dominican Republic and came back rejuvenated.
Masvidal had a remarkable year in 2019 as he scored three big stoppage wins, with a knockout of Darren Till in London followed by a record-breaking flying knee KO of Ben Askren at UFC 239. He then finished a career-defining year by defeating Nate Diaz to capture the “BMF” title at UFC 244.
Masvidal’s massive year n 2019 earned him his first UFC title shot, and he will be take on reigning welterweight champion Kamaru Usman this Saturday in the main event of UFC 251.
UFC 251 takes place Saturday at Yas Island in Abu Dhabi. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and early prelims on UFC Fight Pass/ESPN+.
Ahead of fight night, check out Masvidal’s top finishes in the video above (via UFC). Fights include:
UFC on Fox 8 vs. Michael Chiesa (submission via D’Arce choke, Round 2)
Ultimate Fighter 21 Finale vs. Cezar Ferreira (KO via elbow and punches, Round 1)
Ultimate Fighter 24 Finale vs. Jake Ellenberger (TKO via punches, Round 1)
UFC on Fox 23 vs. Donald Cerrone (TKO via punches, Round 2)
UFC on ESPN+ 5 vs. Darren Till (KO via punches, Round 2)
UFC 239 vs. Ben Askren (KO via flying knee, Round 1)
UFC 244 vs. Nate Diaz (TKO via doctor’s stoppage, Round 3)