Leon Edwards may feel that the time has passed to make a fight with Jorge Masvidal, but it doesn’t sound like ‘Gamebred’ is quite as interested in moving on.
Is there still hope for fans to see Jorge Masvidal and Leon Edwards face off inside the Octagon? The bout, originally planned for December, was recently pulled from the UFC schedule after Masvidal withdrew from the fight due to injury.
And with the booking no longer on the immediate horizon, Edwards seems to be hoping to move on, and possibly get himself a shot at the welterweight title.
“I don’t believe so,” Edwards told ESPN when asked if he thought the Masvidal bout would get re-booked. “I’m going up [and] he’s going that way (down), so I can’t see when there’s going to be a time where that fight makes sense. I’m going to keep winning. I’m going on to world championships and competing at a higher level. He’s declining, you know? So it’s going to be difficult now for us to get into a position where the fight makes sense. We’ll see.”
Edwards also put a call-out on social media to champ Kamaru Usman, telling the ‘Nigerian Nightmare’ the he would see him ‘soon.’ But, if Edwards is doubting Masvidal’s interest in their fight, or the potential timing of their matchup, the bout still appears to be front and center on the longtime ATT talent’s radar.
“I would like to address Leon’s bitch-ass first, and then we’ll take care of the fragile rat guy [Colby Covington] – now he’s changing his gimmick – now he’s a guy and sh*t,” Masvidal explained in a recent interview on the MMA Hour (transcript via MMA Fighting). “[Kamaru] Usman beat his ass so hard, now he’s a nice guy. Wow, what a f*cking turn of events, huh? That f*cking coward.”
Masvidal added that, coming off two straight losses for the first time in his career, “I’ve got to make sure I go in there healthy and well to give [Edwards] my all. If he wants to wait until Feburary or March, I can decapitate him on site for the world to see. If he doesn’t, what can I do? We will meet eventually.”
Recently, rumors spread that the UFC was looking to book Usman vs. Edwards for sometime next spring, but at the moment there’s no official reports supporting that suggestion. In the meantime, how the top contender’s picture in the welterweight division will come into focus remains to be seen.