Jorge Masvidal On Leon Edwards’ UFC 263 Win: “He’s Not A Finisher”
BMF champion and former welterweight title challenger Jorge Masvidal had some harsh words for Leon Edwards following his unanimous decision victory over Nate Diaz at UFC 263.
The victory extended Edwards’ win streak to nine, but Masvidal wasn’t really impressed by the performance. Speaking with reporters ahead of the debut of his promotion, a bare-knuckle fighting league called Gamebred Fighting Championship this Friday, Masvidal spoke with a group of reporters and gave his assessment of the victory from Edwards.
“It was a good fight, good performance, I thought. Leon does what he does and he keeps asking for more money and more things, but he’s not a finisher. He’s not a fighter,” Masvidal said (h/t MMAFighting). “He was winning happily and he wasn’t willing to put himself in a risk to go out there and get those finishes. That’s why I don’t think he’s in the position that he wants to be in, because he’s not going out and fighting every second of every minute. So he’s a very skilled guy, but he just doesn’t have that grit and that meanness in him to go out there and beat up a top contender the way he should.”
Masvidal also stated that he is looking to return in either October or November, and would love to fight Edwards, either Diaz brother, or a top-five opponent in his efforts to bounce back from a second-round knockout loss to UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman in their rematch at UFC 261.
“All of the above,” he said. “Whoever’s available October or November when I’m coming back, that’s who’s head I’m taking off. Whoever it is.”
Edwards himself seems to have no interest in the fight with Masvidal next, opting to wait for a title shot he’s rightfully earned. He told UFC commentator John Gooden that if Colby Covington is granted the next title shot, he has no plans of fighting anyone else specifically Masvidal a fighter he believes has been avoiding him for years.
“I know they’re talking about Masvidal but I’ve been asking to fight Masvidal f*cking two or three years ago,” Edwards said (h/t MMAFighting). “Like, running him down but he kept turning me down and saying ‘Nah, I don’t want to fight,’ even though the UFC wanted it. Now I feel he’s just been chinned for the world title, I don’t feel I need to do that now. I’ll wait for my title shot. I worked hard to get here and that’s just more time to plan.”
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