After an impressive victory over Rafael dos Anjos in the UFC San Antonio main event, Leon Edwards already knew whom he wanted next.
In his Octagon interview, Leon Edwards called out Jorge Masvidal for his next fight, but he did not get the response he was looking for. Masvidal was unimpressed with Edwards’ unanimous decision victory and maintains that it is title shot or bust for him. In his most recent fight, Masvidal defeated Ben Askren with a historic five-second flying knee knockout, and Edwards was unimpressed with Masvidal’s performance as well:
“I believe Masvidal’s amateur,” Edwards said in a post-fight media scrum. “He’s beat nobody that I can say that, ‘he’s amazing.’ He did a flying knee against Ben. Ben is an amateur. He’s slow, he’s old, he’s a grappler. He’s taken some big confidence from it; I take nothing from it. It’s one of those things. If they fought 10 out of 10 times, that would never happen again. So I believe I’m better than Masvidal anywhere in the fight, and I will get an opportunity to prove it.”
Leon Edwards is sure to make a massive leap in the UFC rankings in the week ahead, likely in the top 5. He may even find himself one spot behind Jorge Masvidal, giving even more validity to a potential grudge match between the two.
For Masvidal’s part, he claims he was promised a world title shot if he defeated Ben Askren, therefore he will accept nothing short of that title shot against Kamaru Usman. Leon Edwards’ last loss was to Usman in 2015 and he, like Masvidal, is closing in on a fight against the champion. Should a fight between Edwards/Masvidal be made, it would likely be a clear #1 contender bout.
Do you believe Leon Edwards and Jorge Masvidal is the fight to make next?
