Jorge Masvidal wants to be MMA 'role model' for boxing-ingrained Hispanic community

Jorge Masvidal worshipped Roberto Duran growing up. He adored Julio Cesar Chavez. Later on, he was a huge fan of Oscar De La Hoya and Felix Trinidad.

In that way, Masvidal was very much like most other Latino men growing up in the United States -- he loved boxing. But what separated Masvidal from his friends and many Hispanics was that he also followed amateur wrestling, which is not nearly as entrenched in the Latin community.

Growing up in Miami with a Cuban and Peruvian background, Masvidal rooted for Yoel Romero and Alexis Vila, a pair of Olympic wrestling medalists from Cuba. Little did Masvidal know that those two would be his teammates one day.

"I was always a big fan of those guys," Masvidal told FOX Sports.

Masvidal began watching boxing with family when he was very young. But wrestling was the first sport he tried at 4 years old during a seminar at a community center. He immediately fell in love.

"It was amazing to me," Masvidal said. "It was what I wanted to do."

It is what Masvidal does now, sort of. The 29-year-old is one of the top lightweight fighters in the UFC. And along with his goal of winning the UFC title, he's also hoping to shine some light on mixed martial arts for the Hispanic community. Boxing has been a part of the Hispanic culture for decades. Masvidal wouldn't mind being the guy to bring MMA to the forefront.

"I want to be a role model," he said. "I want people to say, 'He did it, why can't I do it?'"

While some of the Latin stars in the UFC didn't grow up speaking Spanish, Masvidal actually didn't know how to speak English until he was 10 or 11 years old. In inner-city Miami, he didn't really need it. Everyone speaks Spanish there. But he would be bullied by other kids, because he couldn't communicate in English.

"It was kind of weird," Masvidal said. "Some of the Spanish kids would make fun of me because I couldn't speak English, but they could only speak it a little better than me. That would lead to fights -- always."

Indeed, fighting was a way of life for Masvidal, from his first time trying wrestling. He can't even recall how many street fights he has been in during his life. Dozens? Hundreds?

"My whole career growing up fighting?" Masvidal said. "As a kid just fighting in the street? A lot, man. A good amount."

Remember Kimbo Slice, the street-fighting YouTube sensation who parlayed his popularity from the internet into an actual MMA career? Well, Masvidal was around during those days in Miami and even fought Slice's protégé "Ray" twice. He had no idea the videos would even be put online. Masvidal was just fighting, because that's what he does. Oh and by the way, he beat "Ray" both times.

"That was just how things were," Masvidal said. "We'd go out and problems would be looking for us or we would be looking for problems."

Masvidal (28-8) started training in MMA at American Top Team in nearby Coconut Creek, Fla., at 22 years old and that's when he began cleaning up his act. He picked up a UFC video at Blockbuster one day and couldn’t believe people were actually getting paid to do something he has always done: fight. That led him to mixed martial arts.

What's funny about his whole street-fighter persona is that Masvidal is actually an extremely fundamentally sound, technical mixed martial artist. He's cerebral in the cage and executes his gameplan perfectly. Masvidal is just as happy taking you down and submitting you as he would be knocking you out. He's no Kimbo.

"They just think I'm a street fighter, I got the hands, whatever," Masvidal said. "Then I take them down over and over again, it's too late."

Masvidal, who has been a pro fighter for 11 years, is living his dream now, near the cusp of his profession. Yet he still brings the exact mindset into the Octagon as he would a street fight in a Little Havana backyard.

"I went from the streets to FOX," said Masvidal, who has won three straight bouts. "It's a fight. If I'm thinking about being in the UFC, that would get to my head. I just go compete. Forget where I've been. I'm here now."

There are so many who grew up the same way Masvidal did. But few of them have actually channeled that fighting mentality and turned it into a career. Masvidal has used his ability to fight to make money, move out of his old neighborhood and take care of two daughters.

As he climbs the UFC rankings, Masvidal hopes he can show the Latin American community that MMA is a viable option -- just like boxing has been for so long.

"I think it's a matter of time," Masvidal said.