Morning Report: Leon Edwards ‘over’ Jorge Masvidal bout, says it’s “on site” when he sees him

Esther Lin, MMA Fighting It seems that Leon Edwards has given up on the goal of fighting Jorge Masvidal in a cage, so instead, he may have to force the hands of “Gamebred.”
For over a year now, Edwards has been pursuing a bout with Masvidal, dating back to the post-fight altercation at UFC London last year where Masvidal hit him with the now-famous “three piece and a soda.” Unfortunately for Edwards, he’s gained very little ground in his pursuit. Following their altercation, Masvidal went on to emerge as a bonafide star in the UFC and claiming the BMF title over Nate Diaz. After a failed title bid from Masvidal earlier this year, it seemed that Edwards may finally be in a position to get his preferred bout, but instead, all signs are currently pointing to Masvidal rematching Nate Diaz later this year, once again frustrating the Birmingham fighter.
“Yeah, I think that’s the annoying part,” Edwards told Submission Radio. “Cause the UFC wants the fight, like, especially the Jorge fight. I know he went to the UFC and he said he won’t fight me unless I got the title or whatever. But I believe he needs to fight someone in the top five to get to a title, which he’s not doing. So, it’s frustrating, cause the UFC wants it, I want it, but the other guys, they’re saying no cause I’m a hard fight and they don’t want to lose. So, I don’t know.”
The UFC did reportedly have some interest in booking a fight between Masvidal and Edwards, however, Masvidal has never been that interested in the bout, preferring fights with bigger named fighters like Diaz and Ben Askren. That being said, a rematch between him and Diaz has garnered some backlash among fans as their first bout was not particularly competitive, and Edwards is among them who doesn’t understand the rematch.
“I think me and him is a big fight,” Edwards said. “I don’t know. The first fight when he fought Diaz, he basically battered him for the three rounds that they were in the fight. So, I don’t understand where the selling point is. I just don’t understand it. He went out there, he battered Diaz and that’s it. Move on. It’s a weird situation. But let them do their thing and fair play to them.”
As far as moving on, at this point, Edwards feels he has to do that same. Despite campaigning for a bout with Masvidal for over a year now, he seems no closer to actually getting one and so instead, “Rocky” says he’s turning his sights to other fighters in the division, but that it will be “on site” with Masvidal should they ever run into each other again.
“He’s come out and said he doesn’t want none of the smoke with me, he’ll only fight me for that world title. So, I’m kind of over it now,” Edwards said. “He doesn’t want to fight. So, when I see him, we’ll be on site fighting, and he knows what it is when we see each other. It is what it is. You cannot force a man into a fight, right? If he says he don’t want to fight, you can’t. Nothing you can do to force him into it. I want it, the UFC want it. He keeps saying he doesn’t want it. So, what more can I do?”
Edwards has been in a bit of a holding pattern lately. He last competed in July 2019 with a unanimous decision win over Rafael dos Anjos, but since then has been unable to compete, in large part due to the coronavirus. He was scheduled to face Tyron Woodley in March, however travel restrictions forced him to withdraw from the bout when the event was moved from London to the United States. It’s been a frustrating set of circumstances for the fourth-ranked welterweight but he’s hoping it’s nearing the end and when it does, he’ll get a big fight.
“I feel I deserve one of these top five guys, if not a big name in the sport,” Edwards said. “So, yeah, I’ve been on the UFC now since March, trying to get a name in and trying to get a fight in, but it’s always, it was hard for me during lockdown. Everyone else in the top 15 are based in the US. I’m the only one in the top 15 that’s based in the UK. So, it’s way easier for the UFC to match them guys up, cause they’re based in the states, and I couldn’t travel cause of visa issues, and obviously you couldn’t get into America from the UK. So, it’s been frustrating and it’s been annoying. But my time will come and I will be the champion and I truly believe that, you know what I mean, so it’s all good.”
Edwards has an 10-2 record in the UFC and is currently on an eight-fight win streak inside the octagon. His last loss was a three-round unanimous decision to Kamaru Usman in 2015.

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[h=1]MUST-READ STORIES[/h]Results. Alistair Overeem and Ovince Saint Preux picked up big wins at UFC Vegas 9.
Rematch? Alistair Overeem has ‘no problem’ running it back with Jairzinho Rozenstruik: ‘I destroyed that man’.
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[h=1]VIDEO STEW[/h]UFC Vegas 9 Post Show.


LFA 90 highlights.


Countdown to Bellator 246.


Tyron Woodley champ camp.


Juan Archuleta talks about T.J. Dillashaw during suspension.

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[h=1]LISTEN UP[/h]On to the Next One. Matchmaking for the UFC after UFC Vegas 9
The Co-Main Event. Discussing Overeem, Nick Diaz, and the return to Fight Island.

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[h=1]SOCIAL MEDIA BOUILLABAISSE[/h]Nate being Nate.
Lotta people gonna be lining up to fight a dude who hasn’t won a bout in literally a decade.
Benny Dariush should be fighting top-10 guys anyway.
Fun with photoshop.
Kelvin going back to welterweight?
Dodson back to fly?
Post-fight thoughts from The Reem.
Or like, ask an actual doctor instead of Instagram.

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[h=1]FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS[/h]Khamzat Chimaev (8-0) vs. Gerald Meerschaert (31-13); UFC Fight Night, Sep. 19.
William Knight (8-1) vs. Aleksa Camur (6-0); UFC 253, Sep. 26.

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[h=1]FINAL THOUGHTS[/h]Thanks for reading and see y’all tomorrow.

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[h=1]EXIT POLL[/h]

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