Jorge Masvidal has successfully done enough to demand title shot if he beats Gilbert Burns, says Daniel Cormier
Ahead of his return to the octagon, Jorge Masvidal has received a heap of praise from Hall-of-Famer Daniel Cormier, who insists that the welterweight contender could leapfrog the division with a win in his next outing.
'Gamebred' hasn't fought since losing to his former friend-turned-rival Colby Covington over a year ago. The fan favorite was dealing with legal matters after he was involved in an altercation with the controversial fighter on the streets of Miami, though it seems the issues have somewhat cleared up given his return to action.
While discussing Jorge Masvidal's upcoming clash against Gilbert Burns, Daniel Cormier insisted that the veteran may be able to jump ahead of the rest of the division and earn a shot at gold:
"He [Masvidal] pretty much called out everybody in the welterweight division... Why's he talking about all these guys? Because he's a lightning rod and he understands that... If you're in Miami, it's gonna be a pro-Masvidal crowd, [and] he wins, gets in the middle of the octagon, and tells Joe Rogan, 'I want Leon Edwards. Come get this biscuit, come get this two-piece.' Dude, the world's gonna go crazy and Dana will look at that and go, 'Hey, man. There's a lot of history to that'... [If] this guy wins impressively, with his star-power, I could see him right in the conversation for a fight against Leon Edwards."
Masvidal will get to put Cormier's theory to the test if he manages to overcome the everpresent danger of Gilbert Burns. The brawlers will meet in the octagon in the co-main event of the huge UFC 287 card on April 8.
Will Jorge Masvidal be Leon Edwards' next fight?
While he may not deserve a shot at the title given the fact he has lost in each of his last three appearances inside the octagon, Jorge Masvidal's history with the champion could gift him that chance.
Although Dana White has stated that Colby Covington will be next up for 'Rocky', the titleholder himself and other contenders in the division are against the potential matchup.
In his post-fight interview following his first defense of the welterweight strap, Leon Edwards dismissed a clash against 'Chaos' and instead set his sights on the forthcoming war in Miami between Masvidal and Burns.