REGINA (CUP): Muhsin Corbbrey, a three-sport professional athlete, martial arts academy owner, family man, and student is, for all intents and purposes, a person worthy of emulation.
Born and raised in Oklahoma, Corbbrey grew up in what he dubbed “extreme poverty,” living in both his mother’s trailer in the country and his father’s home in the city.
Fortunately, Corbbrey, who shudders when thinking about where he might be had he not found an outlet during his youth, became infatuated with martial arts at a young age.
In the world of combat sports, Corbbrey not only found an outlet for his energy, but also a means to remove himself from the poverty that he was born into.
“Martial arts have been a huge part of my life,” he says. “I can’t remember a point in my life when martial arts didn’t play a major role in my life. As a kid, I always wanted something better for myself and for the people around me. Martial arts always gave me that. I realized really early on that martial arts could make me a better person too, because it gives you the tools that you need to be successful.”
Since focusing his efforts on martial arts, Corbbrey has contested over a dozen boxing matches and has travelled to Thailand to train and compete as a professional Muay Thai kickboxer.
While the 33-year-old still intends on competing in boxing and kickboxing in the future, it has been the world of mixed martial arts where he has made the biggest impact.
Widely regarded as one of the top mixed martial artists to not yet compete in the UFC, Corbbrey has contested bouts in ShoXC, EliteXC, and the WEC. During that time, he has been in the ring with fighters like Nick Diaz, Jim Miller, and Anthony Njokuani.
Outside of his own fighting career, Corbbrey’s martial arts academy in Savannah, Georgia, Champions Training Center, is home to dozens of amateur and professional mixed martial artists including Stephen Bass, who appeared on Season 14 of The Ultimate Fighter reality show.
Although Corbbrey still has lofty aspirations in combat sports, which were his intentions since the very beginning, he’s still planning on using his time in the game as merely a means to an end.
“Just like everyone else in this sport, my eyes are on the prize, so of course that UFC run is the major goal at this point,” says Corbbrey, who will likely return to the ring in December. “My goals have always been intertwined, though. I have things that I want to accomplish in the fight world, but I have very specific goals in activism and changes in the real world that I want to see made. There is a lot of work to be done.”