Leon Edwards doesn’t believe Jorge Masvidal is deserving of a rematch with Kamaru Usman.
Masvidal stepped in on six days’ notice to face Usman for the welterweight strap in the UFC 251 headliner in July last year. Despite the hype of the fight, it was a drab contest that saw Usman win an uneventful unanimous decision.
However, following his impressive third-round TKO win over Gilbert Burns this past weekend, Usman called out Masvidal for a rematch and planned on finishing him this time.
Naturally, Masvidal — who hasn’t competed since the defeat to Usman — was receptive to the idea and although nothing is official, it appears to be the direction the UFC is heading in.
So what does Edwards think of it?
“When I heard it, I was like, ‘oh man, what are you doing?’ First of all, I don’t think Masvidal deserves a title shot,” Edwards told ESPN’s Ariel Helwani (via Middle Easy). “So for him to now promote himself, ‘oh, I broke my nose. Give me a full camp.’ But I think Usman beats him 10 out of 10 times.
“I don’t think Masvidal is a championship fighter. He’s a good fighter, good contender, but he’ll never be a champion in the UFC from what I can see from the generation right now in the top five.”
Ultimately, money is playing a role and Edwards can understand why Usman is in favor of fighting Masvidal next. However, should that fight happen, it will almost certainly scupper the Birmingham native’s hopes of a title shot in the near future.
“If they fought 10 times, like I said, I think Usman beats him 10 times,” Edwards added. “I think it’s just more of the business side of it. It’s about the money. Usman’s probably thinking of the money, easy work for a high payday.
“Also I was pissed off because I’m in between a spot. I want to fight March 13. So if I have to wait for Usman to recover and fight again, it’s probably a lot later this year so that’s too long for me. I want to fight March, then I want to fight for the title later on in the year.”
Edwards was initially set to face Khamzat Chimaev on March 13 until the latter had to pull out. Colby Covington, meanwhile, is expected to be fight Edwards as a replacement — that’s if “Chaos” is willing to sign on the dotted line.
Do you agree with Edwards?