UFC welterweight champion Leon Edwards believes he could be facing Jorge Masvidal later this year.
‘Rocky’ has been out of action since his clash with Kamaru Usman at UFC 278 last August. The bout was a rematch of their prior encounter in December 2015, where ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ dominated en route to a unanimous decision victory.
For the majority of the welterweight title clash last August, the rematch was seemingly going the same way. However, in the fifth and final round, Edwards landed a head kick to knock out the champion. The comeback victory is amongst the greatest in UFC history, and ended Usman’s lengthy title reign.
The two are currently slated to headline UFC 286 in London later this year. In the event that Leon Edwards gets through the trilogy fight unscathed, he believes he could fight Jorge Masvidal. ‘Gamebred’ is slated to face Gilbert Burns at UFC 287 in April.
The two welterweights have been rivals for years, despite never fighting in the cage. During a recent appearance on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, Edwards stated that he believes that he could face his rival next if Masvidal can defeat ‘Durinho’.
“If he can beat Gilbert [Burns] I think that’s the fight to make,” stated Leon Edwards during a recent interview on The MMA Hour. “It’s been a long time brewing, three or four years brewing. So, let’s get in there and settle this once and for all. Yeah, we’ll go from there.”
“No [I don’t think Jorge Masvidal will defeat Gilbert Burns],” he admitted. “To be fair, I don’t know. I hope they both lose to be honest with you. Gilbert is feeling himself right now, he’s got an afro and everything… He’s feeling himself now, it’s going to be a good bout. I’m looking forward to it, to see who the best bum is.”
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