Jorge Masvidal has finally appeared open to a fight against Leon Edwards, but “Rocky” faces competition for the matchup from Gilbert Burns.
Masvidal was last in action at UFC 261 earlier this year. In the pay-per-view’s headliner, “Gamebred” fell short of championship gold when he was brutally knocked out by Kamaru Usman early in the second round. The defeat marked his second consecutive loss to “The Nigerian Nightmare,” and has left him needing some big wins in order to climb back to welterweight title contention.
Having said that his dream UFC matchup would be a trilogy fight with the champ, it’s clear that Masvidal’s eyes are still firmly set on reaching the 170-pound mountaintop before the end of his career.
During a recent appearance at Dickies Arena, the 36-year-old revealed his intent on booking another date with Usman, and called out two top welterweight contenders, both of whom have previously expressed interest in fighting the Miami native.
“I don’t know man,” Masvidal said. “I mean, shit, Durinho is calling me out. If we can make it pop with Durinho, Leon [Edwards], anyone of these guys that gets me closer to the belt.” (h/t LowKickMMA)
Masvidal’s latest comments appear to show a sizeable U-turn on his willingness to face Leon Edwards. The pair formed a heated rivalry back in 2019 when the former title challenger, who’d just knocked out Darren Till, struck the Englishman backstage at UFC London with what he later dubbed as a “three-piece and a soda.”
Despite appearing to have set up an inevitable clash, the foes are still yet to meet inside the Octagon, and Masvidal has even apparently turned down the chance to do so. According to Edwards, “Gamebred” rejected an offer to scrap with him in an attempt to force a rematch with Nate Diaz instead.
Even recently, Masvidal appeared to shut down a callout from Edwards by suggesting “Rocky” was simply “chasing clout” and had turned down the matchup already. But with the BMF seemingly open to finally settling their differences inside the cage, Edwards may finally get his chance to exact revenge for their backstage altercation.
But one other man might have something to say about that. Ever since recording an impressive victory over Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson at UFC 264 last month, Gilbert Burns has been looking to secure a fight against either Edwards or Masvidal, but had previously been met with silence.
Having been brought up by Masvidal during his recent appearance, “Durinho” was quick to capitalize and took to Twitter to respond.
“Hey @GamebredFighter you know it’s all respect from me, let’s dance November or December. I’m read my guy #supernecessary let’s do this”
After being beaten by Usman in his attempt to capture gold at UFC 258 in February, Burns has looked determined to make his way back opposite the champ. And with a win over Thompson, an impressive performance against Masvidal could well be enough for him to earn the chance to run it back with the Nigerian, especially considering it took just one victory over Tyron Woodley for Colby Covington to book a rematch for the 170-pound belt.
With Edwards yet to respond to Masvidal’s callouts, Burns could well be placing himself in pole position for a clash with the fan favorite. But with Dana White’s past comments on a bout between the Englishman and “Gamebred,” it remains to be seen if the promotion will be willing to give up on that matchup just yet.
Who would you like to see Jorge Masvidal face next? Leon Edwards or Gilbert Burns?
