Jorge Masvidal Reacts After UFC Champion Demands He Beg for Title Shot

UFC, Jorge Masvidal

Getty Jorge Masvidal reacts during fight with Darren Till.

UFC superstar Jorge Masvidal delivered a stern response to Leon Edwards after being told to ‘beg’ for a title shot.

In August, Edwards dethroned the longtime dominant former pound-for-pound king Kamaru Usman in a massive upset to become the new welterweight champion at UFC 278. He became only the second British UFC titleholder, with former middleweight champion Michael Bisping the first.

After Edwards won the title, Masvidal rallied to get paired up with his bitter foe for a grudge match. The two share a rivalry that dates back to Mar. 2019 when ‘Gamebred’ got into a physical altercation with ‘Rocky’ backstage at UFC London.

Masvidal is coming off a lopsided decision loss to Colby Covington in his last outing in March at UFC 272. He is currently on a three-fight losing streak, including two failed title opportunities against Usman. Given his recent track record, ‘Gamebred’ has received criticism for trying to get a third title shot. However, Edwards did not completely rule out the possibility.


Edwards Demanded Masvidal ‘Get on His Knees and Beg’ for a Title Shot

In an interview with Mike Heck of MMA Fighting recapping his fight promotion’s iKON FC 5 event, Masvidal called out Edwards again to settle their differences inside the cage.

“Hopefully, I’m kicking Leon’s a** soon and then I can get back in front of Usman, I get back in front of everybody. But I don’t know what’s happening right now. Leon’s getting cold feet, I don’t know what it is. Maybe he doesn’t want to lose in England again to me. He’s kind of ignoring my phone calls.”

“Leon, f****** step up to the plate, bro. You begged and cried and did all this bulls*** before when I was fighting for the titles,” added Masvidal. “Now you got the belt, let’s go. I never dodged this f*** because when I wasn’t fighting Leon, I was fighting the guy that had the belt. Then after that I went and fought the guy who’s number one. If Leon wants it, I’m here man. But I don’t know, he’d rather be drinking tea, eating fish and chips.”

‘Rocky’ did not take long to respond and demanded Masvidal ‘get on his knees and beg’ for the opportunity.

“Refer to me as ‘Mr Edwards’ or ‘Sir’ and get on your knees and beg and I may consider it.


Masvidal Issued a Firm Response to Edwards

On Oct. 16, Masvidal took to his Twitter account to fire back at Edwards for his disparaging comments, writing, “I’ve never gotten on my knees and begged anyone for anything. If your lifestyle is to get on your knees for stuff that’s on you, I’m not judging. Accept the fight, get this payday, get your rematch and get your face broken at the same time. It’s a no brainer dummy #itoldyou.”

Although ‘Gamebred’ did not comply with Edwards’ stipulations, he reiterated his challenge to the Englishman. Masvidal made his case as the righteous next opponent for Edwards despite the recent string of losses.

“For starters, everybody has an opinion and everybody is entitled to it. So if people think I deserve it or not, awesome man, I don’t take anything to the heart. I definitely feel I deserve it, just from the money side, from the fan side, we deserve it. Who doesn’t want to see me fight Leon? They might say I don’t deserve it but they would still raise their hands in the dark and quite and say, ‘I want to see that fight and actually pay my hard-earned money to go see that fight.’”