Birmingham’s Leon Edwards has set his crosshairs on fellow welterweight contender Jorge Masvidal, pegging the potential pairing as “the only fight that makes sense” if he’s not given a title shot.
Edwards called for a fight with Masvidal on Instagram on Wednesday afternoon.
“Let’s make it happen, it’s the only fight that make sense for me outside the championship,” he wrote.
Leon Edwards and Jorge Masvidal have plenty of history, having been involved in a brief, backstage skirmish last year at a UFC event in London. Along with this built-in storyline, the two men are both ranked in the welterweight top-5, so the fight makes sense from a rankings standpoint too.
This is not the first time Edwards has called out Masvidal of late.
In a recent interview with the South China Morning Post, Edwards boldly predicted that he’d finish Masvidal if they were matched up together.
“I truly believe I’ll stop him,” Edwards said. “He’s nothing special. I knew that before he got beat by Usman. He fought Ben [Askren], Ben was s***. Nate Diaz is a journeyman. He beat Darren Till. That’s the only good win he’s had, Darren Till. Everyone else [he’s beaten] are average fighters, and he’s got this mad hype around him. I truly believe I would smoke him.”
Edwards has not fought since July of 2019, when he extended his win-streak to eight-straight with a win over former UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos. Masvidal, meanwhile, last fought at UFC 251 in July, when he lost a short-notice title fight to the promotion’s reigning welterweight champion Kamaru Usman.
Does a fight involving Leon Edwards and Jorge Masvidal interest you?