Leon Edwards has claimed rival Jorge Masvidal will have to "get on his knees and beg" if he wants a shot at his UFC title.
Edwards recently recorded a sensational KO victory over Kamaru Usman earlier this year to become UFC welterweight champion for the first time in his career. The British star was awarded the title shot by the Nigerian champion and capitalised in the final round, which will now see him subject to a host of challenges at 170lb.
One of those is expected to be 170lb superstar Masvidal who Edwards was set to meet last year before his potential opponent was forced to withdraw with an undisclosed injury. The pair have been going back and forth over an octagon meeting ever since the fight's previous collapse, and the stakes will now be higher than ever with the title belt held by Edwards.
But the British star has hit out at his rival on social media, tweeting: "Refer to me as 'Mr Edwards' or 'Sir' and get on your knees and beg and I may consider it." His latest jibe came as a response to his 170lb rival who recently issued a fight call-out to Edwards as he sets his eyes on the prize once again.
Masvidal said during an interview with MMA Fighting: "Leon, f****** step up to the plate, bro. You begged and cried and did all this bulls*** before when I was fighting for the titles. Now you got the belt, let's go."
'Gamebred' is currently on a three-fight losing streak, and was unable to dethrone Usman himself when attempting to become champion in their two previous fights back in 2020 and last year. Masvidal went on to challenge bitter rival Colby Covington but also came up second best which was expected to leave him out of the title running for now.
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It is expected Edwards will first accept a third meeting with Usman to give the champion a chance to find redemption having been putting in a good display prior to the devastating stoppage. But the British fighter has accepted that a fight with Masvidal could be very possible and he is willing to put his belt on the line in his first defence.
“That guy is a bum, I didn’t see his call out but he’s a bum anyway. He’s just looking for another title shot, but I’ll grant him his wish after this fight. I want it in the UK, I’ll give the bum the opportunity to come fight for the title just to show everyone how s*** he is.”
He later added during an interview on the Jim Rome Show : "He is on my list, but I think right now Jorge is on a two, three-fight losing streak. He needs to go out there and get some wins and make the fight make sense. That’s a fight I think would be massive for the UFC and to get my revenge on him, I cannot wait."
