Getty Jorge Masvidal
No. 2-ranked UFC welterweight contender Leon Edwards plans to win the title in August, and then he wants to make his first title defense against his longstanding rival, Jorge Masvidal.
During UFC 275 this weekend, the promotion announced that 170-pound king Kamaru Usman will defend his belt against Leon Edwards at UFC 278 on August 20. “Rocky” (19-3, 1 NC) is riding the momentum of a 10-fight unbeaten streak, not losing since a unanimous decision defeat to Usman in 2015.
Edwards was featured on Monday’s episode of “The MMA Hour” with Ariel Helwani to speak about his upcoming clash with “The Nigerian Nightmare.” Rocky is confident he’ll leave the Octagon with gold wrapped around his waist. And then he wants to defend it against Masvidal.
Edwards and “Gambered” have a heated rivalry and were supposed to fight in December at UFC 269. Masvidal pulled out of the fight, however. And according to Edwards, he wasn’t surprised.
“I thought, you know p****,” Edwards said via Low Kick MMA. “I had a feeling he’d have done it, you know. I don’t think he wants to fight, and I’ve always said that he doesn’t want to fight me. Lastly, I would’ve loved for that fight to have happened.”
Masvidal & Edwards Got Into It Backstage at a London Event in 2019
2019 was the year that catapulted Masvidal’s name into stardom. And he started it off by knocking out hometown hero Darren Till during a UFC headliner at the O2 Arena in London, England.
While Masvidal was backstage giving an interview after the fact, he and Edwards got into it. Rocky, who edged Gunnar Nelson via split decision during the night’s co-main event, and Masvidal started bantering and then eventually approached each other.
At that moment, Masvidal landed his patented “two-piece and a soda,” cracking Edwards multiple times before bystanders broke them up. Watch the backstage incident below via the YouTube embed:
Well, Edwards is more than willing to meet Masvidal back at the O2 Arena. And he plans to earn vengeance.
“I’ll give him the title shot, that’d be a fantastic fight in the UK,” Edwards said to Helwani. “Bring it back to the O2 where it happened, for the title. That’s the one to do next, that’s the best.”
The Englishman continued, saying that it would be a “dream scenario” to headline a card in London as the welterweight champion.
“If that happens in the UK, sure. Like I said my dream scenario would be to bring it back to London and to headline London,” Edwards said. “So I want to come back home and then do it, so yeah.”
Edwards Didn’t Press Charges After Masvidal Punched Him
Edwards was asked for his take on the alleged incident between Colby Covington and Masvidal. Covington has accused Gamebred of punching him multiple times in March outside a restaurant, leading to Masvidal facing multiple charges.
“Yeah, I’ve seen it,” Edwards said. “That boy’s a little rat. Even though Colby shouldn’t have snitched, but Masvidal’s just a little rat.
“He’s like a sneaky, run up behind you, throw a shot and then like, ducks off. He’s a weirdo.”
Helwani then told Edwards he had a lot of “street cred” because he never pressed charges against Masvidal. “I wanted to kill him,” Edwards laughed. “Press charges? You can’t press charges if you’re trying to kill somebody.”
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