UFC welterweight champion Leon Edwards shared a definitive message for rival Jorge Masvidal.
Coming off one of the most shocking upsets, Edwards created history by dethroning longtime former UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman in the final minute of their headlining bout at UFC 278 this past Saturday. Usman lost out on sharing the top spot with legendary mixed martial artist Anderson Silva for the most consecutive wins in the promotion.
Although Usman dominated most of the outing, Edwards pulled off an incredible comeback with a vicious head kick that had the pound-for-pound king out cold.
Following the victory, Masvidal and his team called for a matchup against the 30-year-old Brit. The two had previously talked about the possibility, with Edwards giving a positive response to taking on “Gamebred.” Considering what Usman has achieved in the sport, UFC president Dana White indicated a title rematch would be in the works for “The Nigerian Nightmare.”
In an appearance on “The MMA Hour” with Ariel Helwani, Edwards expressed his interest in a trilogy fight with Usman. “Rocky” made it clear that Masvidal, who has not won since Nov. 2019, needs to stack up a few victories to get a title shot.
“Whoever, whenever,” Edwards said. “I’d like to run it back with Usman but it has to be in London. I know that Dana came out and said Wembley, that would be amazing, to headline Wembley with Usman. But if not, like I said, let Masvidal get a few wins. That would be a big fight as well. I’d love to f**king smack his head after him.”
Edwards Took a Dig at White for Counting Him Out
Going into the long-awaited title fight, many people had dismissed the idea of Edwards beating Usman. White had previously touted Usman as the greatest 170 lb fighter of all time. After his second clash with former interim division title holder Colby Covington at UFC 268, White had stated that Covington was the best guy behind him at the post-fight press conference.
Edwards recounted his reaction to the statements by taking a dig at White for counting him out.
“Dana came out before and said, ‘If Usman wasn’t the champion, Colby (Covington) would have been the champion.’ When I heard that, I was like, ‘what?’ Colby had two shots, Masvidal had two shots, but look little old Leon came in with one shot and head-kicked him. Pound-for-pound headshot.”
Edwards Wants To Return Early Next Year
When asked about his thoughts on when he would likely return to the octagon, Edwards shared that he would not be fighting again this year.
“Yeah, a 100 percent it would be next year. Early next year, I don’t want to be off too long so early next year we are good, like March or April.”
He is looking to get on a card with fellow English superstars Paddy Pimblett and Darren Till in the UK.
“That’s what Dana said. Let’s get it done. MMA now in the UK is booming and to have a world champion from the UK. All the other guys, Paddy, Darren, and everyone else, put them all on a card, and let’s sell out Wembley. Now is the time to do it.”
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Leon Edwards Issues Definitive Message for UFC Rival Jorge Masvidal