Leon Edwards is the man to beat in the UFC’s welterweight division, but there’s one name he’s still fixated on getting a win over.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Edwards would like to settle his business with Jorge Masvidal in the future. The two have had a rivalry dating back to March 2019, when both fighters competed at a UFC event in London. After the conclusion of the event, Edwards and Masvidal were involved in a physical confrontation backstage, better known as the “Three Piece and a Soda” incident.
Edwards recently appeared on The Breakfast Club, where he assured that the feud with Masvidal is not over.
“Not with him,” Edwards answered when asked if it’s generally cordial between all the fighters. “Not with Masvidal, that’s what it is, that’s beef. I don’t like him. We had a scuffle backstage, we threw a few shots. That was in London, my hometown.
“But they took him and moved him and hid him and he fled my country and I haven’t seen him since. That was three years ago.”
Since that time, Edwards has continued an unbeaten run that was capped off by a miraculous fifth-round knockout of Kamaru Usman at UFC 278 to become the UFC welterweight champion. Meanwhile, Masvidal has become one of the promotion’s biggest stars, capturing a “BMF” championship belt in 2019 and twice challenging Usman for the welterweight title.
Edwards still hopes to fight Masvidal, whether it’s in a sanctioned contest or not.
“I can’t let it go,” Edwards said. “This is was, like, three years ago. I have to get it back either in the octagon or on the street.”
Though Edwards and Masvidal are both amenable to a matchup — Masvidal recently called for Edwards to “step up to the f****** plate” — it’s unlikely that they’ll face off anytime soon. Masvidal is currently dealing with legal problems after allegedly assaulting Colby Covington this past March and Edwards is expected to meet Usman in a trilogy bout.
Usman defeated Edwards in their first meeting in December 2015 before losing their rematch. A third fight is yet to be made official, but Edwards expects it to take place at a stadium in London.
“I’m excited for that,” Edwards said. “To headline in the U.K. Sixty thousand people trying to get into a stadium show. It’s going to be big. I’m excited. This is the third time around. He beat me the first time by points and I knocked him out the second time. Now we’re going back home on my turf and my backyard.”
