Jorge Masvidal warns everyone not to go too crazy about the idea of Colby Covington getting the next title shot against Leon Edwards. At least not yet, anyway.
In the aftermath of Edwards’ (20-3 MMA, 12-2 UFC) trilogy-fight victory over Kamaru Usman at UFC 286 to defend the welterweight title, UFC president Dana White named Covington (17-3 MMA, 12-3 UFC) as the No. 1 contender to the belt.
That news didn’t sit well with Edwards, because he first wanted to see how the matchup between Masvidal (35-16 MMA, 12-9 UFC) and Gilbert Burns (21-5 MMA, 14-5 UFC), which takes place April 8 at UFC 287 in Miami, plays out before committing to anything.
There’s a longstanding feud between Masvidal and Edwards stemming from when “Gamebred’ attacked the Brit backstage at a UFC event in London in March 2019, sparking the famous “three piece and a soda” line that’s become part of the MMA lexicon. Edwards wants his opportunity at revenge now that he has the belt, but the UFC brass appear to have other plans involving Covington.
Masvidal is confident those plans are far from set in stone, though. He claims he knows something the rest of the world does not.
“I’m fighting Gilbert, then I’m fighting Leon,” Masvidal told MMA Junkie Radio. “I’m telling you that’s how it’s going to play out. I just got some insider information.”
Expectations are different from reality, however, and Masvidal is no fool. He enters UFC 287 on a three-fight losing skid, and no matter how deeply rooted his rivalry with Edwards is, he’s not going to get a title shot unless he beats Burns.
Fortunately for Masvidal, he’s not the slightest bit short on confidence, and is certain he will produce a performance that has the MMA world demanding to see the fight.
“I’m eager to get in there with Gilbert and utterly dismantle him to the point that everybody is begging for me to go and fight Leon,” Masvidal said. “I know Leon’s not an idiot. He’s already fought before and defended the title and stuff, and he knows what a guy like me brings to the table besides the added beef that we have and the amount of pay-per-views we can generate together fighting for that title. I think it’s epic. It’s a movie ending for me and everybody involved with me.”
Although Burns has been putting in consistent work in the welterweight division, including unsuccessfully challenging for the belt in February 2021, it appears Masvidal doesn’t think too highly of his abilities.
Masvidal made it clear he doesn’t fear much about what the Brazilian brings to the table, and he anticipates the world will see as much when they step in the octagon.
“This chapter (of my career) would be called: Gilbert ‘The Stepping-Stone’ Burns,” Masvidal said. “It’s no diss to Gilbert. I think he’s a good competitor and he comes to fight and stuff like that for the most part, but we’ve never been on the same skillset. As far as gameness and toughness and durability, he’s never had it, either. You crack him and he starts skating.
“I know he’s good in the jiu-jitsu world, but his wrestling ain’t that. I’ve only been focusing on the last six months that I can deal with these wrestlers efficiently, get to positions efficiently, not waste as much energy. I’m going to paint my Van Gogh on Gilbert’s face. Elbows, knees, kicks, takedown defense, takedown offense – all that good stuff. I’m going to bring it.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 287.
