Leon Edwards reacts to referee Herb Dean waving off his fight with Belal Muhammad. The fight was ruled a no contest due to an accidental eye poke.
Leon Edwards says the UFC has promised a title shot with a win over Jorge Masvidal
Leon Edwards should be the next man in line for the UFC welterweight title shot, but with the UFC there are no guarantees. That is why Edwards has made sure that if he beats Jorge Masvidal the UFC will put him in front of the champ next. Edwards spoke about this arrangement he has with the UFC brass on his recent appearance on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani.
“They came with the right figures, so I thought I’ll make a little stop off before my title shot,” Edwards said. “I said it, even before the money came up, I said ‘Listen, if I do this fight for you guys, I want to fight for the title next.’ They said yes so, I go out there, I put the performance of my life in and I fight for the title next.”
Edwards will have to get past Masvidal first. Although not outwardly expressed, it is likely that Masvidal has struck the same kind of deal. Both men are looking for a chance to show their skills against champion Kamaru Usman, maybe even more so for Masvidal. Masvidal lost to Usman twice already and has been targeting another chance. However, Usman has Colby Covington to deal with next. They two will meet inside the Octagon on November 6. The winner will be the one to face whoever comes out of UFC 269 as the next contender.
“I’m focused on the task at hand,” Edwards explained. “I’ve got Masvidal in December, go out there, like I said, and take him out. That’s a fight I’ve wanted for a long time. I can not wait to go out there and shut him up.”
Leon Edwards is coming into this bout with Masvidal having won his last nine outings, with a no-contest thrown in. His last loss was to Usman back in 2015. In his last nine wins, only two have come from a stoppage. He has gone to decision many times. He might have needed something special against Masvidal to secure that title shot had he not been promised by the UFC. This way he is covering all his bases with the win, however it comes.
