Jorge Masvidal confident fans will pay "hard-earned money" to watch him fight Leon Edwards despite them claiming he doesn't deserve title shot
Jorge Masvidal continues his campaign for a title fight with the new welterweight king Leon Edwards. Many believe that 'Gamebred' is undeserving of a title shot for being on a losing skid. However, the UFC BMF champion is confident that the fight will draw a lot of eyeballs despite his poor octagon performances of late.
Speaking to Mike Heck of MMA Fighting, Jorge Masvidal attempted to make his case for the next title shot. The Miami native even compared his rivalry with Edwards to that of Dan Henderson and then-champion Michael Bisping, where 'The Count' used his influence to secure a fight with his old foe and avenge his loss. Here's what Masvidal said:
"If people think I deserve it or not, awesome man, I don't take nothing to heart. I definitely feel I deserve it. Just from the money side, we definitely deserve it. Just from the fans side, we definitely deserve it. Who doesn't want to see me fight Leon? They might say, 'I don't deserve it,' but they will still raise their hands in the dark and be like 'I want to see that fight and I'm actually going to pay my hard-earned money to go see that fight.'"
Masvidal added:
"Hendo had beaten Bisping and then Bisping was champion. I think Hendo was maybe very similar to me. He wasn't even the top ten at the time. They just dropped my ranking as well so they brought Hendo in there, fought Bisping in England, gave him a tough fight... It was a story there. If that had a story, this has a f***ing movie between me and what's his face, a f***ing English f***!"
Watch Jorge Masvidal's interview below:
A potential fight between Jorge Masvidal and Leon Edwards would certainly be intriguing, given their infamous backstage incident two years ago. The welterweight rivals first crossed paths at a UFC London event in 2019, where Masvidal punched the unsuspecting Brit backstage and called it a "three-piece and a soda."
Leon Edwards wants to fight Jorge Masvidal but claims it 'doesn't make sense'
Leon Edwards captured welterweight gold with a brutal knockout win over Kamaru Usman at UFC 278. While the two fighters are expected to meet in a trilogy bout next, it appears that 'Rocky' is also keen to exact revenge on Masvidal.
However, the Brit believes a fight with Jorge Masvidal doesn't make sense at the moment considering the American's recent losing skid. During a recent interaction with Sky Sports, here's what Edwards said about a potential matchup with 'Gamebred':
"Masvidal is the one I definitely want to have, but because he keeps losing it’s difficult to make it make sense for the company, you know, even for the fans, to sell it. I know it’ll probably sell as far as the back story of it. If Masvidal goes out and gets a big win, then that’s a fight that I want."
Watch Leon Edwards' full interview with Sky Sports below:
Jorge Masvidal is currently on a three-fight losing skid, with his latest defeat coming at the hands of Colby Covington at UFC 272 earlier this year. Prior to that loss, 'Gamebred' suffered back-to-back defeats at the hands of former welterweight kingpin Kamaru Usman.