Jorge Masvidal briefly pursued a professional career in boxing after stepping away from the UFC in 2023. However, he recently hinted at a potential return to the octagon. Now, who does ‘Gamebred’ want to face for his highly anticipated comeback? Former UFC welterweight champion Leon Edwards. Here is what happened:
Jorge Masvidal recently did an interview with ESPN MMA. During the discussion with Brett Okamoto, Masvidal expressed his desire to fight again, potentially by the end of 2024 or early 2025. Gamebred has remained active as a promoter for his Gamebred Fighting Championships. However, it looks like he misses the excitement of MMA and is eager to compete again.
Give me f*cking Leon Edwards, bro. Let’s go. We’ve got a built-in history. The UFC has got the whole promo. He’s 0-1 against me. Let’s go.
Jorge Masvidal on ESPN MMA
Masvidal shares a long-standing rivalry with Leon Edwards dating back to a backstage altercation in 2019. Other potential opponents include Conor McGregor, Justin Gaethje, and Nick Diaz, all of whom would make for exciting and high-profile bouts.
👀Jorge Masvidal wants to fight Leon Edwards and believes he’ll get title shot next.
“He’s [Leon Edwards] 0-1 against me. What are we talking about… Let’s fight later this year or next year… After I’ll knock his a** out, guess what, they [UFC] will give me a title shot.”
— Home of Fight (@Home_of_Fight) September 7, 2024
But what does the UFC think of this idea? Masvidal revealed that he brought up the proposition to Hunter Campbell but he shut down the idea. ‘Gamebred’ blamed Edwards saying that he heard the former champion does not want to fight because he almost got knocked out in their last encounter.
However, that might not be the case. Edwards would look for a way to regain his title as soon as possible. As such, a fight with Masvidal wouldn’t offer him anything other than bragging rights. Therefore, he would rather take on active welterweights in the top 5 for a shot at the title again.
Did Jorge Masvidal and Leon Edwards ever fight in the octagon?
Jorge Masvidal and Leon Edwards have never officially fought inside the UFC octagon. So how is Leon Edwards 0-1 to Jorge Masvidal? The two fighters have a notorious history of a backstage altercation. Back in 2019, after UFC Fight Night in London, Masvidal was being interviewed backstage after he knocked out Darren Till.
This was when Edwards made a comment. It led to a heated exchange, and Masvidal walked over to Edwards, landing a quick combination of punches before security intervened. This incident became widely known as the “three-piece and a soda” incident, referencing Masvidal’s casual description of the altercation afterward.
Despite the hype and tension created by this backstage fight, they have yet to meet in an official UFC bout. Fans have been eager to see this matchup, especially now that Edwards is no longer the welterweight champion. ‘Rocky’ lost his title to Belal Muhammad at their recent showdown at UFC 304.
Interestingly, during his conversation with Brett Okamoto, Masvidal stated that after he is done with Edwards in a potential matchup he wants to go for the welterweight title shot. The closest Masvidal has come to becoming champion was when he fought Kamaru Usman back in 2020 and 2021. Thus, it will be interesting to see how far the 39-year-old UFC veteran can go this time.
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