Jorge Masvidal criticizes Leon Edwards‘ welterweight title defense against Kamaru Usman as not being the fight fans deserved due to a lack of risk-taking and excitement.
Jorge Masvidal was not impressed by Leon Edwards’ welterweight title defense against Kamaru Usman during their recent trilogy match at UFC 286. According to Masvidal, both fighters were not fighting to their potential, and consequently not giving fans the show they deserved. He credits their lack of fan favorites and their failure to break pay-per-view records to their conservative approach in the Octagon: “Fans ain’t stupid, they know what they’re watching. They know that when you get a guy in there, win or lose, like me, I’m going for your jugular. I’m going to get you out and I have the ability to get you out.”
Regardless of his criticism, Edwards did win a majority decision at UFC 286 after a dramatic turn of events in 2022 that saw him secure the belt with a fifth-round head kick knockout in the final minute at UFC 278. His rise to the top of the division led to a No. 4 pound-for-pound ranking. However, Masvidal, 38, remains skeptical about Edwards as a champion, calling the trilogy match “boring” and even going as far as to predict that if he and Edwards ever meet in a long-discussed grudge match in London, Masvidal will receive more fan support from Edwards’ countrymen.
Masvidal claims to be a bigger draw than Edwards in England, arguing that their recent pay-per-view numbers were unimpressive: “If the number was anywhere decent, believe me, they would’ve hinted at already, because it’s digital s***. They already know all this s***. It’s digital. If that number was good, they would’ve leaked that s*** out already. ‘Oh, Leon, blah, blah, blah, 500,000 pay-per-views.’ You ain’t seen s*** because they ain’t sold s***. Ain’t nobody know both of them, bro. They’re good competitors, they’re good fighters, but they don’t put it all on the line, so nobody’s going to be buying their s***.”
Currently, Masvidal is set to face Gilbert Burns in a pivotal contenders match on April 8th in the co-main event of UFC 287, located in his hometown of Miami. However, this match will not affect who challenges Edwards for the title next. Edwards has expressed interest in fighting Masvidal if he wins at UFC 287, due to their animosity towards each other dating back to 2019. Masvidal agrees with the idea, believing they could sell out a stadium in the UK if the UFC books their grudge match. However, he knows that such a match depends on him winning in Miami: “I feel like I’ve got to go out there no matter what and just give the best version of me, and everything else will fall into line.”