Unsurprisingly, Leon Edwards is not a fan of Jorge Masvidal getting another title shot.
Following Kamaru Usman’s impressive defense of his welterweight title against Gilbert Burns at UFC 258 this past weekend, the champion called for a rematch with Masvidal.
The Masvidal camp were certainly receptive to the idea as there has even been discussions of the two fighters being potential TUF coaches later in the summer before a rematch.
For now, nothing is official, but it seems the UFC is definitely going in the direction of a Usman vs. Masvidal rematch. But as far as Edwards is concerned, “Gamebred” doesn’t deserve it at all.
“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. “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.”
Edwards Looking To Fight For The Title Later This Year
It’s hard to make a case for Masvidal deserving another title shot.
Even with the short notice of his first fight with Usman, Masvidal hasn’t competed since that unanimous decision defeat in July last year.
And Edwards — currently on an eight-fight winning streak — believes money is what’s playing a factor right now.
However, that puts him in a pinch as the Birmingham native is looking to compete for the title later this year after competing on March 13. He currently has no opponent following the withdrawal of Khamzat Chimaev.
“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.”
As for who Edwards could fight, it looks like the UFC has zeroed in on Colby Covington. However, the latter doesn’t seem too interested in the matchup as he’s looking to fight Usman or Masvidal next himself.
