Leon Edwards was hoping the stars would align for him to fight Jorge Masvidal.
Edwards hasn’t let go of their backstage altercation in March 2019, in which Masvidal sucker-punched him during a UFC event in London. But with their career trajectories currently in opposite directions, welterweight champion Edwards knew making his first title defense against Masvidal would be a hard sell.
Masvidal (35-16 MMA, 12-9 UFC) has dropped three in a row, but Edwards (19-3 MMA, 11-2 UFC) is just waiting for him to rebound with one big win so they can fight.
“I don’t like him that much, but I’m rooting for him to win so I can fight him,” Edwards said on the “Believe You Me” podcast. “He just keeps losing, so it’s hard to make the fight make sense. I even said if he went out there and fought in like December or January – like Gilbert (Burns) or somebody – beat one of them, then I’ll fight you in March and then get (Kamaru) Usman in the summer or something.
“Let him rest his hands a bit, then I’ll fight you in March. But he didn’t even do that. We’ll see. Skill set-wise, it’s two different levels. His career is doing that, mine’s doing this. So it’s hard to make the fight make sense right now. But that’s a fight that I need to happen, want to happen.”
Instead, Edwards will complete his trilogy with Usman (20-2 MMA, 15-1 UFC), whom he dethroned with a stunning head kick knockout to capture the welterweight title. Edwards faces Usman in the UFC 286 main event March 18 at The O2 in London. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and ESPN+.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 286.
