Leon Edwards was set to face Jorge Masvidal at UFC 269.
Their planned meeting was canceled after Masvidal was forced to withdraw from an injury. Edwards was not happy with the bout being written off. He hasn’t fought since last June when he took on Nate Diaz. Edwards will finally be getting his long-awaited title shot after going ten fights without a defeat. He’s slated to challenge the reigning UFC Welterweight champion, Kamaru Usman, at UFC 278.
Leon Edwards trashes Jorge Masvidal
In a recent appearance on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, Leon Edwards bashed Jorge Masvidal for withdrawing from their planned fight. Edwards did not want to delay his next outing inside the cage and believed ‘Gamebred’ was hesitant to compete against him.
“I thought, you know p*ssy. I had a feeling he’d have done it, you know, I don’t think he wants to fight, and I’ve always said that he doesn’t want to fight me. Lastly, I would’ve loved for that fight to have happened” “I’ll give him the title shot, that’d be a fantastic fight in the UK. Bring it back to the O2 where it happened, for the title. That’s the one to do next, that’s the best.”
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Edwards believes Usman has improved a lot since their first fight
Edwards hasn’t lost in seven years with his last defeat coming to the current pound-for-pound Usman in December 2019. He believes they both have improved significantly since their first outing and will prepare to see the best version of Usman inside the octagon.
“Yeah, yeah and just like I said, he’s improving his striking, his boxing, I think now he’s understanding. It’s still basic in what he does but he understands what he’s doing as far as striking goes” “First of all, it was a striker vs. wrestler match you know it wasn’t, now it’s going to be a totally different fight.”
Edwards will challenge Usman for the title at UFC 278 on August 20, 2022, at Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah.
