While the UFC’s new welterweight champion Leon Edwards is currently preparing for a massive rematch with former long-time champion Kamaru Usman next, he’s admitted in a new interview that he still has unfinished business with his old rival Jorge Masvidal, who hit him backstage at an event in London a few years ago.
“I can’t let it go,” Edwards told the Breakfast Club. “It’s not let go, and this happened three years go. Yeah, it’s not let go, and I have to get it back in the octagon or in the street. It has to be got back.”
On that night back in March of 2019, Masvidal and Edwards had crossed paths backstage after both had emerged victorious in the Octagon, with ‘Rocky’ having beaten Gunnar Nelson, while ‘Gamebred’ was being interviewed live on-air following his KO victory against Darren Till.
As Edwards walked past the two fighters stared each other down and ‘Rocky’ appeared to challenge his rival.
“July?” Edwards asked.
“Maybe, maybe not,” Masvidal responded with a shrug.
“Ahh, shut up!” Edwards said as he continued to walk off down the corridor.
Masvidal didn’t take kindly to that and told him to say that to his face and then, with the interview crew’s cameras still rolling, he walked over to Edwards and proceeded to hit him with a brief flurry of punches before they were both pulled apart.
It was a moment that would help Masvidal’s growing popularity at the time skyrocket to a new level, while Edwards was left fuming and demanding that they settle their differences in the Octagon.
“That was in London, as well, my hometown, but they took him, moved him, hid him, and fled him out of my country. I haven’t seen him since.”
Masvidal might not have been in hiding, but he certainly was repeatedly dismissive of Edwards after that, instead focusing his attention on KO’ing Ben Askren in five seconds in his next fight and then capitalizing on that to win the one-off ‘BMF’ title against Nate Diaz, before suffering back-to-back losses against the 170lb champ at the time, Kamaru Usman and then another defeat to another rival in Colby Covington.
On the other hand, while he was often overlooked, Edwards continued to extend his unbeaten run to 10-fights, picking up victories over the likes of Rafael dos Anjos and Nate Diaz to finally earn his own title shot, at which point he shocked the world by delivering an enormous upset when he KO’d dominant champ Kamaru Usman with a head kick in the final round to win the belt.
As such Edwards now holds all the aces and Masvidal has been the one whose suddenly calling for the fight to happen, with ‘Rocky’ getting his own back by shrugging off the idea.
At least until now that is, as he admits what many would have already suspected; that deep down, even with the belt now around his waist, he still can’t rest easy until he’s settled the score with Masvidal.
