Mark Magsayo has already climbed boxing's highest mountain.
At 31, the Tagbilaran City, Bohol native knows the pride of becoming a world champion. But he also knows the heartbreak of losing the title - and the uncertainty of wondering what comes next when a career reaches a crossroads.
Magsayo has chosen not to dwell on what he has lost. Instead, he is pursuing something no Filipino boxer has accomplished before: Becoming a world champion under a new promotion such as Zuffa Boxing.
That journey continues when Magsayo makes his sophomore appearance under the Zuffa banner at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Sept. 12 (Sept. 13 PST). Then, he will face unbeaten American Andres Cortes in a 10-round lightweight encounter.
The fight is part of the supporting card for the highly anticipated Ryan Garcia-Conor Benn clash for the WBC welterweight championship, giving Magsayo another opportunity to perform under the brightest lights.
For a pugilist who dealt with a series of canceled bouts last year, this is the platform he wanted.
"I've waited for a night like this my whole career," Magsayo said in a statement,
"I signed with Zuffa to be on the biggest shows."
The significance of Magsayo's pursuit can be easy to miss in the Philippines, a country that has produced 47 world champions since Pancho Villa became its first in 1923.
Magsayo is already part of that proud lineage after capturing the WBC featherweight championship in 2022. A Zuffa Boxing title, however, would put him in completely new territory.
Zuffa Boxing was co-founded by UFC president and CEO Dana White and Saudi powerbroker Turki Alalshikh as a disruptor to professional boxing. Its centralized, UFC-style model aims to move away from the traditional system of independent promoters and multiple sanctioning bodies.
Instead of the fragmented championship structure involving the WBC, WBA, IBF and WBO, Zuffa Boxing wants one champion per weight class. The organization is also using The Ring magazine's rankings to help determine its leading contenders, creating a system Magsayo believes is easier for athletes and fans to understand.
"The difference here is that there's just one ranking and one world champion," Magsay said.
"It's the same system they have in the UFC."
That approach has also made Zuffa Boxing one of the sport's most controversial new forces.
Critics argue that allowing a promoter to control championship opportunities could give business interests too much influence over matchmaking and title shots. There are also concerns about fighter autonomy, sponsorship restrictions, and negotiating power under a corporate structure modeled after the UFC.
White's desire to work around or change provisions of the Muhammad Ali American Boxing Revival Act has intensified the backlash, drawing criticism from boxing legend-turned-promoter Oscar De La Hoya.
Magsayo, however, did not make the move to Zuffa Boxing to join the sport's latest debate. His decision was born from frustration with the traditional system and, more specifically, the amount of time he felt he was losing.
Zuffa Boxing first offered Magsayo a contract in 2025, but he remained tied to Premier Boxing Champions (PBC). His scheduled ring assignments were then canceled, leaving him increasingly frustrated by what he called a "waste of time."
For a fighter in his prime, those lost months mattered. Training camps were prepared for fights that never happened, while valuable opportunities to build momentum continued to disappear.
When his PBC contract expired in January, Magsayo finally made his decision: He signed with Zuffa Boxing and effectively became an anti-establishment figure in a sport deeply rooted in tradition.
His promotional debut gave him reason to believe he had made the right choice.
In April, Magsayo overwhelmed Feargal McCrory and stopped him in less than five rounds, producing an emphatic performance that immediately put his new chapter in motion.
"Fighting for Zuffa is a big platform for me," Magsayo said.
"It's a big platform for me because I'm in my prime, and I'm ready to shock the world."
Cortes represents the next test, and another victory could take Magsayo closer to the championship opportunity he wants. More importantly, it could strengthen his belief that leaving the familiar path was the right decision.
There is still no guarantee that Zuffa Boxing's model will succeed. The promotion must prove that its centralized structure can deliver sporting merit while convincing a skeptical boxing establishment that its vision is more than a business experiment.
However, the man known as "Magnifico" is willing to take that gamble.
After everything he has endured, Magsayo has found another reason to believe. This time, he wants to make history with it.