Jorge Masvidal is hoping to settle his long-running feud with Leon Edwards inside the Octagon.
The feud between Masvidal and Edwards dates back to their 2019 Ultimate Fighting Championship bout in London. The two met backstage after Masvidal knocked out Darren Till and Edwards defeated Gunnar Nelson by split decision. Masvidal was doing a post-fight interview with ESPN before leaving the set to face Edwards. The two continued to trade blows backstage, with “Gamebred” unleashing his iconic three-punch combo, which he dubbed the “Three Piece and a Soda.”
It was a perfect setup for a fight between the two, but it never ended up happening: According to Masvidal, he accepted the fight with “Rocky,” but the Brit turned it down.
“I know he’s not going to fight me. He was offered it and turned it down,” Masvidal recently told MMAFighting.com. “He doesn’t want this. I
[to fight him]”Leon Edwards doesn’t want this. He has other options and he basically chose not to fight me. That’s all I’m saying.”
Masvidal retired from UFC after losing a unanimous decision to Gilbert Burns in April 2023, his fourth consecutive loss at UFC. After announcing he was “not retired,” Masvidal fought Nate Diaz in a boxing match, losing by a narrow majority decision on July 6. The former BMF champion has since said he has contacted UFC about a possible return.
Edwards, meanwhile, lost his welterweight title in July when he was defeated by Belal Muhammad via unanimous decision at UFC 304. While Masvidal’s return is still uncertain, “Gamebred” has vowed to “beat” the number one-ranked Edwards if a potential bout were to occur.
“Leon, I’m telling you right now, I’m going to beat your fucking ass. Let’s go,” Masvidal said. “I don’t know, it could be December 7th in Vegas, it could be the Super Bowl next year, I don’t know, but I’m going to beat your skinny ass.”
Masvidal, meanwhile, praised the newly crowned welterweight champion and the progress “Remember the Name” has made over the years.
First of all, Belal [improved] “He’s really improved since I first saw him,” Masvidal said. “I saw him fight live at UFC before, and he’s not the best athlete, he’s not the most skilled, but slowly but surely, he’s gotten better and better. There were a lot of times where I thought, ‘I can’t beat that guy,’ but I wasn’t! He destroyed that guy. He did it a lot of times… Now that he’s champion, I think he’s one of the fighters who has improved the most dramatically. It’s incredible. It’s been an incredible journey.”
