American Top Team founder Dan Lambert says the best outcome for his gym at UFC 272 would be a replica of Jorge Masvidal’s knockout of Ben Askren in 2019.
While ATT’s interest in this weekend’s pay-per-view recently increased with the late-notice addition of Brazil’s Renato Moicano to the card, the gym’s main attention will no doubt be on the headlining bout, which pits current influential member Masvidal against the ousted Colby Covington.
While Covington’s individual history training and living with Masvidal has provided the main narrative heading into the event, “Gamebred” isn’t the only member of the ATT roster that “Chaos” got on the wrong side of during his time at the Coconut Creek, Florida-based facility.
With that in mind, Dan Lambert, who founded the gym in 2001, is after a fast and emphatic victory for his man in Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena this Saturday.
Lambert: Quick KO For Masvidal Would Be “Satisfying” For ATT
During a recent interview with ESPN MMA’s Marc Raimondi, Lambert discussed the upcoming grudge match between one of his gym’s current fighters and perhaps the most notable former athlete, who he even used to manage.
Given Covington’s history with ATT, and feuds with the likes of Dustin Poirier and Joanna Jędrzejczyk, Lambert believes the best-case scenario for his gym would be a “satisfying” early finish, perhaps similar to the downfall of a certain “funky” former welterweight in 2019.
“I’d be lying if I said this was just another fight. We’ve got fights every week. This is a monstrous fight…You throw the personal side into it and it’s a monstrous fight,” said Lambert. “And I can’t help but look at what a fight like this means to the individual at our gym. This is a big fight. Jorge wins this fight, his career goes a certain way. Jorge loses this fight, it’s gonna go another way.
“Best outcome for us (ATT) would be Masvidal/Askren 2. That would be pretty satisfying for a lot of people at this gym,” Lambert continued. “It didn’t really seem realistic against somebody as good as Ben Askren. But I think Colby is a whole other level than that. Outside of Usman, Colby is gonna be favorited against everybody. So, yeah, it’s probably an unrealistic expectation to have a short fight like that. But I think it’s also an unrealistic expectation to think that Colby is gonna go in there and dominate Jorge.”
The source of Masvidal’s current stardom perhaps largely derived from one flying knee. At UFC 239 in July 2019, the Miami native was matched up with Ben Askren, who, at the time, boasted an unblemished 19-0 record and had emerged victorious in his promotional debut against Robbie Lawler four months prior.
In one of the most memorable moments in UFC history, Masvidal rendered Askren unconscious after just five seconds with a brutal flying knee, marking the fastest KO in the promotion’s history.
Now set to face another decorated wrestler, will “Gamebred” bring the acrobatic maneuver back out of his toolbox? Only time will tell.
Do you think Jorge Masvidal can replicate his quick victory over Ben Askren against Colby Covington at UFC 272?
