Michael Bisping pleads with Leon Edwards to fight Jorge Masvidal.
Michael Bisping has urged Leon Edwards to accept a fight against Jorge Masvidal after ‘Rocky’ snubbed ‘Gamebred’ on Twitter last week.
My next fight will be for the world title I don’t want to hear nothing about a guy coming off 2 fight skid and Got ko his last fight
— Leon ‘Rocky’ Edwards (@Leon_edwardsmma) September 15, 2021
Bisping believes Edwards will be waiting a long time for a title shot following his uninspiring performance against Nate Diaz at UFC 263 and thinks it would be a mistake for the top-three welterweight to sit on the sidelines.
“Leon Edwards came out publicly and said he doesn’t want to fight Jorge Masvidal,” Bisping said on a recent episode of Believe You Me (h/t Sports Keeda). “He says that he’s got no interest in fighting him because he [Masvidal] is on a two-fight skid… It just frustrates me a little bit… That’s the fight you should definitely go after… Let’s remember Masvidal assaulted him [Edwards] and punched him backstage. As a man, you should fight him [Masvidal].”
“I don’t think he [Edwards] is gonna get it [title shot].” he added. “You could be waiting around for a long… long time for a fight that’s never going to happen.”
Edwards is on a tear at welterweight, winning nine in a row, so it’s understandable why the Brit feels entitled to a title shot against the winner of Usman-Covington 2. The only thing that fans can remember from his last fight, though, is that Diaz almost finished him in the fifth round.
Edwards has a history with Masvidal dating back to 2019 when both men got into a scuffle at London’s O2 Arena following the latter’s knockout win over Darren Till in the UFC Fight Night 147 main event.
It makes for an intriguing storyline that could sell the fight, but Edwards is well within his rights to wait for a title shot. The 30-year-old is currently #3 in the UFC welterweight rankings and is considered one of the most underrated fighters in the promotion.