Jorge Masvidal backs Kamaru Usman to retain title at UFC 278, still down to fight Leon Edwards

Jorge Masvidal is willing to take on Leon Edwards, even if the latter falls short in his title challenge.

Edwards is set to take on the reigning UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman in the headlining bout of UFC 278 on Aug. 20 at Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah. Usman has proven to be a dominant champion during his run and goes into the bout undefeated in title contests.

Jorge Masvidal backs Kamaru Usman to retain the title at UFC 278

In an interview with MMA Fighting, Jorge Masvidal shared his thoughts on the upcoming title match at UFC 278.

“I don’t [see Leon Edwards winning] to tell you the truth,” Masvidal said (ht MMA Fighting). “It’s a fight, anything can happen. There’s no 1,000 percent winning for anybody in this sport. I don’t care if you’re undefeated. It’s just a matter of time. I think Usman wins more times than Leon wins if they were to fight five times.”

While he did leave room for Edwards to win, Masvidal broke down why Usman will likely get his hand raised.

“I think [Usman] is a little more complete, and at the end of the day, just the wrestling, it will come down to the wrestling,” Masvidal explained. “On the feet, Leon’s a little bit more polished, maybe a little bit more variety with setups or attacks, but Usman’s wrestling, I think he’ll keep Leon honest to where he won’t open up as he would with a lot of guys. I see Usman winning.”

Masvidal is still down to fight Leon Edwards

Masvidal and Edwards have a long-running beef stemming from the former’s assault on the latter back in 2019. Masvidal is open to fighting Edwards even if he loses out on the title.

“I think naturally I’m faster than him,” Masvidal said. “I know I’m smarter than him. I have more power. We’ve fought a lot of common opponents and he couldn’t do anything to them but give them a split decision. I put those same guys on stretchers.

“I do worry well with the strikers as everybody knows. It’s like those wrestlers, those guys who have wrestled since they were 7 years old. They can take me out of my comfort zone, put me on my back and not allow me to use all my tools where I have some problems. Leon’s not that guy. He doesn’t have that next level wrestling or endurance. I know he takes a lot of guys down, but the caliber of takedowns and the opponents that he does it to, it’s not me so I don’t see his grappling being a problem for a me. The striking, I welcome it. Let’s find out. Let’s go.”

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