At the time I was training at a gym in Miami, Kimbo Slice started training there as well. By then, Kimbo had already become a superstar – a street superstar, with 30 million views on YouTube. You know, back in the day, when Michael Jackson dropped a video, getting a million views was a big deal. But Kimbo, when YouTube first came out, was like one of those new TikTok stars who get 600 million views. I swear, I can’t think of anyone bigger than Kimbo on YouTube at that time.

When he came to the gym, he’d already heard about me from other scraps and his boys knew who I was. They saw me working out and asked if I wanted to throw down in the backyard. At first, I was like, “What the hell?” But I was super honored. One, because he was from Miami, and two, because everywhere he went, it was chaos. People wanted pictures with him, everything. So, I didn’t think I was going to get 30 million views or anything, but I knew it would open doors for me.

They offered me a fight and asked if I was in. I said, “Hell yeah!” They said they would contact me in a few months, and back then, things were super hush-hush. They finally called me a few months later, and I was told, “Hey, you still want to fight?” I said, “Hell yeah.” Then they said, “Alright, we’ll call you back in 2–3 weeks with the details.”

Three weeks later, I got the call – it was like a random Tuesday or Wednesday. They told me, “We’re throwing down tomorrow. We’ll call you with the details.” The next day, I was at McDonald’s, about to get some food when they called and said, “Hey, we’re fighting in two hours, don’t tell anyone, just bring a couple of heads with you.” I was like, “Perfect!” I went straight there, obviously didn’t eat the McDonald’s, and when I arrived, they told me Kimbo would go first. I was like, “Awesome, I gotta watch this guy fight.”

He pulled up in an Escalade, and when he got out, it was like smoke pouring out of the car. He took off his chain and got straight to it. His partner, Icy Mike, held his chain while Kimbo laid out his opponent with one punch. I thought, “Damn, this is gonna be something.” Then they told me, “The guy you’re fighting wants to fight another dude first.” I was confused and asked, “What the hell?” They said, “Yeah, he wants to fight someone else first, and then he’ll fight you.” I had no idea who this guy was, and I started thinking, “This guy must be really good… or maybe he’s just that stupid.”

I started warming up, and my coach went to watch the fight. The fight lasted about 20 seconds – boom, the guy got knocked out with a right hand. The guy I was with said, “Watch out for his right hand; it’s like a sniper shot, a killer right hand.”

That was all I knew about the guy before the fight. I didn’t watch his previous fight, because back then, fights weren’t set up like that. They didn’t give you much info on your opponent – it was just about weight, and they’d find someone for you.

So, was that the viral video we watched? Yes, that’s the one behind the laundry man, and the second fight was in a backyard at a house. After that, Kimbo had his eye on me. He started calling me “Ponytail.” That goes to show – if you’re nobody, no one will give you a nickname. But since I did my thing, that’s how it happened.

That’s also when I made the transition to American Top Team. It was about two years later, but I eventually joined. So, I was backyard fighting for a couple of years before making that jump.

Yeah, I was really young when I started. I had those two fights with Kimbo, and before that, I had other backyard fights, but they weren’t a big deal. It was just a bunch of us getting together – a couple of my boys would throw in $30 each, and we’d bet on the fight. Kimbo heard about me, and that’s how he got to know me.

This article captures the intense and thrilling experience Jorge Masvidal had during his backyard brawls and his journey into the world of combat sports.