‘From backyard fighting to meeting royalty’ – UFC’s Jorge Masvidal visits Jordan to meet with prince

Jorge Masvidal is a long way from his native Miami. The UFC fighter recently traveled to Jordan, where he met with Prince Talal bin…

By: Karim Zidan | 11 months ago
‘From backyard fighting to meeting royalty’ – UFC’s Jorge Masvidal visits Jordan to meet with prince
Bloody Elbow 2.0 | Anton Tabuena

Jorge Masvidal is a long way from his native Miami.

The UFC fighter recently traveled to Jordan, where he met with Prince Talal bin Muhammad, a member of the Jordanian royal family.

“Had the pleasure of meeting HRH Prince Talal. Who ever thought… from backyard fighting to meeting Royalty,” Masvidal wrote on Instagram.

Prince Talal, 57, is the younger brother of King Hussein of Jordan, as well as first cousin of the current King Abdullah, making him 14th in line of succession to the Jordanian throne. He is also the son of Prince Muhammad bin Talal, who was the heir-presumptive to his elder brother’s throne until 1962.

The UFC fighter also posted Instagram stories of himself at a shooting range on the palace grounds, and eating Mansaf, a traditional Jordanian and Palestinian dish made of lamb, spiced rice, and a sauce of fermented dried yogurt.

The sport of mixed martial arts has been gaining popularity in Jordan over the past few years, with more professional athletes emerging from the Middle Eastern nation. Ali Al-Qaisi became the first Jordanian athlete to compete in the UFC, though failed to record a victory during his tenure with the organization.

Other Jordanian fighters such as Jarrah Al-Silawy and Abdulkarim Al-Silawadi won the BRAVE CF light-welterweight and lightweight titles respectively, while Lina Fayyad, the only professional female MMA fighter in Jordan, continues to pave the way for future generations of women to compete in the sport.

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About the author
Karim Zidan
Karim Zidan

Karim Zidan is a investigative reporter and feature writer focusing on the intersection of sports and politics. He has written for BloodyElbow since 2014 and has served as an associate editor since 2016. He also writes for The New York Times and The Guardian. Karim has been invited to speak about his work at numerous universities, including Princeton, and was a panelist at the South by Southwest (SXSW) film festival and the Oslo Freedom Forum. He also participated in the United Nations counter-terrorism conference in 2021. His reporting on Ramzan Kadyrov’s involvement in MMA, much of which was done for Bloody Elbow, has led to numerous award nominations, and was the basis of an award-winning HBO Real Sports documentary.

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