Getty Jorge Masvidal and Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson
Jorge Masvidal is aiming for a UFC welterweight title shot with a win over Gilbert Burns next month during the promotion’s next pay-per-view event.
Even though UFC president Dana White announced this past weekend that No. 2-ranked contender Colby Covington will receive a crack at defending 170-pound champ Leon Edwards, No. 11 Masvidal believes his history with Edwards, along with a noteworthy win over No. 5 Burns, will be enough for the promotion to change their plans.
Masvidal and Burns will duel in the UFC 287 co-main slot on April 8 Miami-Dade Arena in Miami, Florida. Masivdal, who is coming off a unanimous decision defeat to Covington in March 2022, was featured on episode No. 137 of the “JRE MMA Show” and he discussed his Octagon return with UFC commentating mainstay Joe Rogan.
“It’s an exciting time for the welterweight division, too,” Rogan said to Masvidal. “With you having that beef with Leon, and Leon now having retained the title. They’re talking about Colby. But, I feel like with a good showing against Gilbert, you skip the line.”
“Skip Colby, yeah,” Masvidal responded. “And Leon wants it, more than anything. He wants it more than anything — just for the history that we have. And also, we’re going to sell the most pay-per-views if me and him are in that cage.
“It’ll sell a lot,” Rogan said. “It’ll be a big fight. It’s going to be a gigantic fight.”
Masvidal & Edwards Got Into a Physical Altercation in 2019 at a UFC Show
“The history” Masvidal is referring to is when he and Edwards competed during the same UFC event in London, England, in 2019. Edwards fought in the co-main event against Gunnar Nelson and came out on top with a split decision. Gamebred was up next. He fought Darren Till as the headlining act and he knocked out the scouser in front of his countrymen.
Masvidal went backstage after the fight and spoke with Laura Sanko for ESPN. During their interview, Edwards came into the room and after a brief verbal back and forth, the two men approached each other. Well, things got physical. Gamebred connected with multiple punches that left “Rocky” with a cut under his eye.
Watch the infamous skirmish below via the embedded YouTube player:
Masvidal Thinks Kamaru Usman May Have Came Back Too Quickly After Edwards Knocked Him Out
Edwards made his first welterweight title defense at UFC 286 this past weekend. He fought former champ Kamaru Usman for the third time, and he closed out the trilogy with a majority decision nod.
When talking about the fight with Rogan, Masvidal said Usman may have tried to regain his throne too quickly after his second fight with Rocky when he was knocked out with a late-fight head kick. Usman’s first KO defeat of his professional career came in August, around seven months before UFC 286.
“Little lackluster,” Masvidal said about the UFC 286 headliner. “Usman, maybe there were times where I didn’t see him stepping on the gas like he usually does. And it might have been because he just took this fight too early. I always think that when a fight gets knocked out, and I got this from the old-timers in boxing, you need to really let your brain and your confidence heal and come back.
“Because you get back in there and you get touched, and you’re like, ‘Whoa, I might get knocked out.’ And you pull the brakes and you start maybe second-guessing yourself. So, I think maybe he took it a little too early.”
Masvidal said that Usman was a “better fighter” than Edwards in a lot of aspects, but the Englishman “has his number.” Gamebred said that following his KO to Usman in April 2021, he took around “8-9 months” off.