Jorge Masvidal still welcomes the chance to settle an old grudge with Leon Edwards, but he doesn’t expect a UFC title to be up for grabs when they meet.
The bad blood between the welterweights dates back to 2019, when Masvidal and Edwards briefly brawled backstage after UFC London. After Edwards was caught on camera hitting Masvidal, Masvidal said that he would give Edwards a three-piece and a soda.
The beef was never settled in the octagon, and Edwards is just days away from challenging Kamaru Usman for the welterweight title in the main event of UFC 278. As much as Masvidal would love the chance to take the belt from a victorious Edwards, he doesn’t see that happening.
“I don’t [see Leon Edwards winning] to tell you the truth,” Masvidal told MMA Fighting. “It’s a fight, anything can happen. There’s no 1,000 percent winning for anybody in this sport. I don’t care if you’re undefeated. It’s just a matter of time. If they had to battle five times .”
, I believe Usman would win more than Leon.
According to Masvidal the real difference is Usman being the stronger overall fighter. The champ also has an incredibly powerful grappling game.
Masvidal believes Usman will hold the belt after Saturday’s upset.
” I think [Usman] has a better package, but at the end it’s just wrestling. Masvidal said. On the feet Leon is a bit polisheder, with some more variation in setups and attacks. But Usman’s wrestling will keep Leon honest. He won’t be as open with Leon like he might with many other guys. I see Usman winning.”
Regardless of the outcome, Masvidal would absolutely accept a future fight with Edwards. Masvidal is excited about the possibility of a matchup.
As much as he’s struggled against high-level wrestlers in recent fights, Masvidal knows Edwards doesn’t have the ability to put him down on the canvas like Usman or Colby Covington have done in the past.
And when it comes to striking, Masvidal is confident he would do the same thing to Edwards in the cage that he did to him backstage in London three years ago. He might try adding a dessert to that combination this time.
“I think naturally I’m faster than him,” Masvidal said. Masvidal said, “I’m more intelligent than him. I have more power. He couldn’t even do much to his common enemies after we fought many of them. I put those same guys on stretchers.
“I do worry well with the strikers as everybody knows. This is like the 7 wrestlers. They can take me out of my comfort zone, put me on my back and not allow me to use all my tools where I have some problems. Leon’s not that guy. He doesn’t have that next level wrestling or endurance. Although he can take down a lot, the quality of his takedowns, and the oppositions he fights, is not mine so it doesn’t seem like a problem. The striking, I welcome it. Let’s see what happens. Let’s go.”
