Editor’s note: Jorge Masvidal will face Colby Covington at UFC 272 on March 5. This story was originally published in April, 2021.
It was March 16, 2019, and London’s O2 Arena was packed for a UFC Fight Night. Darren Till, a popular local fighter from Liverpool, was facing Jorge Masvidal in the main event. Till was favored to beat Masvidal and then face Ben Askren, who was in attendance, for a shot at the welterweight title.
But plans — and Masvidal’s career — took a dramatic turn that night. It was a turn that eventually led Masvidal to UFC 261‘s main event in Jacksonville, Florida, where he took a second shot at champion Kamaru Usman.
There was nothing about how that fight started in London that suggested Masvidal was destined for stardom. Masvidal raced across the Octagon and delivered an illegal kick to Till’s groin in the opening seconds,…
