Leon Edwards weighs in for his fight again Rafael dos Anjos in July 2019. Image Credit: Getty Images
Leon Edwards says Jorge Masvidal will never be a UFC champion
UFC welterweight contender Leon Edwards threw some serious shade at rival Jorge Masvidal, saying “Gamebred” will never be a UFC champion.
Edwards is currently without an opponent after Khamzat Chimaev was forced to pull out of their recent bout due to COVID-19 complications. The UFC is actively trying to find an opponent for Edwards, with Colby Covington seemingly at the front of the line for the matchup. Of course, Masvidal is also out there as well. He’s still one of the best welterweights in the world despite his loss to Kamaru Usman at UFC 251, and a fight against Edwards could theoretically give the winner of the bout a title shot at 170lbs. However, Masvidal is looking to completely bypass taking another fight at this point, and he’s hoping that he can just skip the line and get the Usman rematch now.
Speaking to ESPN’s Ariel Helwani, Edwards took a shot at his rival Masvidal. The Brit said that he believes Usman is viewing Masvidal as an easy matchup and “Rocky” believes Masvidal doesn’t have what it takes to win the title.
Leon Edwards believes a rematch with Jorge Masvidal would be "easy work" for Kamaru Usman.
(via @arielhelwani) pic.twitter.com/j581S6cxqQ
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) February 16, 2021
“I think Usman beats him 10 out of 10 times. I just don’t think Masvidal is a championship fighter. I think he’s a good fighter, good contender, but he will never be a champion in UFC. Usman is probably thinking about the money, right? Easy work for a high payday,” Edwards said.
Edwards has won eight straight fights and is coming off of a win over former UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos, but that fight was in July 2019. Edwards missed all of 2020 due to COVID-19 travel issues and then caught the coronavirus himself, but he remains a top-five ranked fighter. The hope is that he still headlines the March 13 card next month against another top contender, and it will be interesting to see who the UFC matchmakers come up with. Perhaps these comments from Edwards will be what he needs to provoke Masvidal into taking the fight against him.
Do you agree with Leon Edwards about Jorge Masvidal, or do you think “Street Jesus” has what it takes to be a champion?
