Jorge Masvidal has criticised Leon Edwards for not trying to finish Nate Diaz at UFC 263.
Jorge Masvidal wasn’t surprised that Leon Edwards was unable to finish Nate Diaz in their fight at UFC 263.
Edwards picked up a one-sided unanimous decision victory against Diaz at UFC 263 this past weekend. The win didn’t come without a scare for Edwards, being rocked by Diaz in the final minute of the fight.
Talking recently to The Mac Life, Masvidal said Edwards’ inability to take risks in fights is why he was unable to stop Diaz,
“It was a good fight, good performance, I thought. Leon does what he does and he keeps asking for more money and more things, but he’s not a finisher. He’s not a fighter,” Masvidal said. “He was winning happily and he wasn’t willing to put himself in a risk to go out there and get those finishes. That’s why I don’t think he’s in the position that he wants to be in, because he’s not going out and fighting every second of every minute.
“So he’s a very skilled guy, but he just doesn’t have that grit and that meanness in him to go out there and beat up a top contender the way he should.”
Despite Edwards’ win on the night, the narrative was that Diaz gained more from the fight thanks to his late comeback. Former UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping sympathised with Edwards and said ‘Rocky’ should fight Masvidal next. ‘Gamebred’ said he would happily fight Edwards next if he is ready later this year.
“Whoever’s in the top five that is available October or November, that’s who’s head I’m coming after.”