Report: Jorge Masvidal out of UFC 269 fight against Leon Edwards due to injury
Two-time UFC welterweight title challenger and former ‘BMF’ champion Jorge Masvidal is out of his highly-anticipated grudge match against Leon Edwards next month. Masvidal had been scheduled to face Edwards in a high-stakes welterweight contest at UFC 269, that many were clamoring for after their backstage incident in 2019. ESPN’s Brett Okamoto was first to report that Masvidal had to withdraw from the fight due to an undisclosed injury.
Jorge Masvidal was looking to get back in the win column and snap a two-fight losing skid as he dropped his last two fights to reigning welterweight champion Kamaru Usman. A win over his rival Edwards would’ve put Masvidal back up at the top of short-list contenders although Usman owns two victories over him already. The rivalry between Masvidal and Edwards came into the spotlight in March of 2019 when both were involved in a backstage altercation where “Gamebred” landed his patented “Three-piece and a soda” combo on Edwards after the two exchanged words.
It didn’t take long for Edwards to respond to the news, as he said he knew that Masvidal would withdraw and made it known he would not be remaining on the card. Taking “much needed” family time with his freed up time, Edwards called out Usman for a championship title fight in 2022. Edwards is currently riding a 10-fight unbeaten streak where he has gone 9-0-1 with the one no-contest coming by way of accidental eye-poke against Belal Muhammed.
Disappointed but honestly I knew this fraud didn't want to fight me anyway. He was just a stop off on the way to the title. The goal remains the same. Much needed family time now, @usman84kg i will see you soon.
— Leon 'Rocky' Edwards (@Leon_edwardsmma) November 10, 2021
There was no shortage of fighters ready to step up to face Edwards, including Muhammed, Khamzat Chimaev, and even Nick Diaz said he would step in as well. Despite the efforts, “Rocky” will be off of UFC 269 in December, and will turn his attention to Usman, who is the last fighter to defeat him, which happened back in 2015.
As for Jorge Masvidal, his former roommate and American Top Team teammate Colby Covington responded to the news of his withdrawl from the fight, calling for a fight to be made between the two former friends. When Covington came up short in his most recent title fight against Usman at UFC 268, he suggested in the post-fight press conference that Masvidal pull out of the fight against Edwards and face him some time in 2022, calling it “the fight to make”.
Heard Street Judas The Fragile Guy Is Out With Hurt Feelings…. WHO Could’ve Predicted That?! 🤷♂️ pic.twitter.com/kOBul0vklX
— Colby Covington (@ColbyCovMMA) November 10, 2021
There’s been no immediate word on the futures of Masvidal or Edwards, but if they don’t get rescheduled for 2022, they both have legitimate options for new fights as well.
