Leon Edwards isn’t going to pick and choose who he faces as champion.
“Rocky’s” life changed forever at UFC 278 in Salt Lake City, Utah, two weekends ago. The Birmingham, England resident has found himself involved in several notable moments in recent years during his rise to fame, however, he was more on the wrong side than the right.
Even in dominant victories such as his June 2021 unanimous decision against Nate Diaz, the bout is mostly remembered for Diaz nearly pulling off a comeback in the fight’s final moments. Coincidentally enough, Edwards succeeded with his mid-fight comeback attempt to capture the title this recent time out.
Now, Edwards has some options as champion. One of the more fan-friendly choices has been brewing for years and that’s a clash with two-time UFC welterweight title challenger, Jorge Masvidal.
“Yeah, 100 percent. That’s on my list,” Edwards told The Jim Rome Show of a Masvidal pairing. “But at the moment, Jorge, he’s on like a two-three fight losing streak. He needs to go out there, get some wins and make the fight make sense. That’s a fight I think would be massive for the UFC. To get my revenge on him, I cannot wait.”
An Edwards vs. Masvidal fight wouldn’t be a rematch but most certainly a continuation of some unfinished business. Beginning his own rise to fame in 2019, Masvidal scored a big knockout over Darren Till in London that eventually led to him claiming the label of Baddest Motherf*****. That same night, Edwards also saw his hand raised, and at the end of the night, things got heated backstage and Masvidal coined the “three-piece and a soda” after landing a combination on Edwards.
The pair were supposed to collide as recently as UFC 269 in Dec. 2021 but injury pulled “Gamebred” from the slot. Masvidal then went on to battle former best friend turned bitter rival, Colby Covington, in what turned out to be a third consecutive loss.
Meanwhile, Edwards has made history becoming Britain’s second UFC champion after landing a kick on Kamaru Usman heard around the world. In all likelihood, a trilogy between the two looms large and ultimately, the champ is just fine with that for his first defense.
“I think Usman is deserving of the trilogy,” Edwards said. “I’d love to have it back in the U.K. In Wembley would be good. The O2 would be good in London. But yeah, I’d love to give him the rematch. Run it back again, let’s settle the score.
“[The kick was] kind of like a hot knife through butter, just perfect (laughs). There was no pain, there was just a perfect impact. I see the way he folded over and I went to go for some ground and pound but he was already out. It was a fantastic moment.”
TOP STORIES
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Pinpoint. Kamaru Usman ‘wanted the finish’ in the fifth round before Leon Edwards’ ‘money’ head kick at UFC 278
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Thoughts. Tai Tuivasa calls Jon Jones the best ever, but ‘I think he’s a d***head’
Return. Rampage Jackson expects to fight again, targets boxing bout with former heavyweight champion Shannon Briggs
VIDEO STEW
The MMA Hour.
Big challenge.
No MMA for Gane.
Marvin’s corner.
Tofiq time.
Mikuru Asakura knockout highlight reel.
Conor kicks.
Izzy plus magic.
Bisping on Edwards-Usman saga.
Cejudo breaks down Demetrious Johnson’s ONE Championship title win.
SOCIAL MEDIA BOUILLABAISSE
Volk vs. Shaq.
Volk still takes him
(via @alexvolkanovski @SHAQ) pic.twitter.com/qQs2nicQ90
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) August 29, 2022
Game on.
Wow, I am even more motivated with this new opponent. A more difficult fight for sure. Just how I want it. NOW it’s a fight. Try not to get knocked out Steph #UFCParis
— Ailín “Fiona” Pérez (@AiluPerezUFC) August 29, 2022
Celebrate good times.
What was YOUR reaction to that Demetrious Johnson knockout? @MightyMouse @MightyWife #ONEonPrimeVideo1 #ONEChampionship pic.twitter.com/ekXmhwYBYT
— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) August 29, 2022
Heavyweight title coming up.
The KSW Heavyweight Title is on the line!
Ricardo Prasel
Here is the trailer for the #KSW74 main event! pic.twitter.com/257z7iBVmQ
— KSW (@KSW_MMA) August 29, 2022
Good old Diego.
Diego Sanchez ✊ can’t release the video cause it was too crazy pic.twitter.com/GvvY0W4O0h
— Terrance ‘T Wrecks’ McKinney (@twrecks155) August 29, 2022
Welcome to the dark side.
Fala galera, agora tenho uma conta no Twitter. Todas as outras são falsas.
Hi guys, now I have a Twitter account. Every other one is fake. @danawhite @ufc @UFCBrasil @espn @espnmma @combate @jgjoia @edblackhouse @MatheusDCAquino @blackhousederek— Alex “Poatan” Pereira (@AlexPereiraUFC) August 29, 2022
Agreed.
It’s a real shame we don’t have one of the most talented to ever do it @MightyMouse in the @ufc anymore. Especially when you look at how good these divisions have gotten now and the possible matchups. https://t.co/eZxoPwwqFy
— Alan Jouban (@AlanJouban) August 29, 2022
Dangerous duo.
Hype.
Tune in Wednesday, Sept. 28 to witness #InvictaFC49: Delboni vs DeCoursey LIVE from Oklahoma at 8/7c on @axstv/@fightnet/@facebook/@youtube!
Atomweight champion @Jessicadmma makes her first title defense against @lionheartjill!
Subscribe: https://t.co/OH41wCCJdF pic.twitter.com/E8uFwEv5yV
— Invicta FC (@InvictaFights) August 29, 2022
Just a suggestion…
I mean you’re winning and all but you’re playing it to safe. If you were really that good you would hit the wall a couple times or at least slow down to let someone else catch up.
As a fan it would just make it more exciting to watch. https://t.co/hp62Y1KTaM
— Dan Hangman Hooker (@danthehangman) August 30, 2022
Weili workin’.
Dojo is everyone’s best friend.
FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS
Jessica Penne (14-7) vs. Tabatha Ricci (7-1); UFC Vegas 61, Oct. 1
Vadim Nemkov (15-2, 1 NC) vs. Corey Anderson (16-5, 1 NC); Bellator 288, Nov. 18
FINAL THOUGHTS
Can’t knock Leon for keeping it real. Lucky for us, I don’t think there’s any need to worry about Usman of all people getting skipped over … whether you’re a fan of immediate rematches or not.
Thanks for reading!
POLL POSITION
Last Week’s Results:
Friday: 77% of 526 total votes answered “The Yoel Romero win” when asked, “Which was the worse moment in Israel Adesanya’s career?” Adesanya defeated Romero via unanimous decision in UFC 248’s co-main event in March 2020.
Thursday: 59% of 889 total votes answered “Yes” when asked, “Should Luke Rockhold be a UFC Hall of Famer?” Rockhold retired after a unanimous decision loss to Paulo Costa at UFC 278.
Wednesday: 55% of 483 total votes answered “Will you be watching ONE Championship’s first event on Prime Video?”
Tuesday: 87% of 766 total votes answered “Yes” when asked, “Will Leon Edwards vs. Kamaru Usman 3 happen in England?”
Monday: 52% of 835 total votes answered “Yes” when asked, “Is Edwards’ KO of Usman the greatest head kick KO in UFC history?” Edwards defeated Usman in the fifth round of UFC 278’s main event.
Today’s exit poll:
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