Jorge Masvidal is ready to trade a potential nine-figure payday for a five-year-old grudge. For Masvidal, some scores are more important than a payday. While a lucrative fight with Conor McGregor has long been the talk of the town for his return, ‘Gamebred’ just put the UFC on notice that his focus has shifted to settling an old, bitter grudge.

In his latest appearance on UFC’s “Deep Waters,” Masvidal said he could return to the UFC welterweight division, but only under one condition: he wants to face Leon Edwards first.

“If they gave me the Leon [Edwards] fight, I’ll get to 170 by tomorrow…,” said Jorge Masvidal. “We’re talking… We’re definitely talking. We’ve been talking for a minute, you know. We just haven’t landed on that thing. You guys know how the UFC is. I love them to death… We’re going to get something done, though.”

Indeed, for a fighter like Jorge Masvidal, who lives to fight rather than chase money, settling unfinished business means everything. In fact, his rivalry with Leon Edwards goes back to 2019. Their feud began in March 2019 in London, when ‘Gamebred’ knocked out Darren Till at Fight Night. During a backstage interview with Laura Sanko, Leon Edwards confronted him, shouting “July, July,” and challenged Masvidal to a fight.

However, tensions escalated later when Masvidal attacked Edwards backstage, which left ‘Rocky’ injured, an incident now known as the “three piece and a soda.” Since then, both fighters have continued pushing for the matchup, but they have never reached a conclusion.

Over time, Masvidal repeatedly urges Dana White & Co. to book the fight against Edwards. In fact, during an appearance last year on InsideFighting with Mike Owens, Masvidal says a fight with Leon Edwards remains the “only fight” he wants.

However, the opportunity never materializes. After the London incident, Masvidal moves on to compete for the BMF title, where he defeats Nate Diaz to win the belt. Later, he suffered four straight losses against Kamaru Usman (twice), Colby Covington, and Gilbert Burns before retiring from the UFC.

He later attempted a boxing run against Nate Diaz but fell short. However, the former BMF champ still remains under UFC contract, which keeps a potential comeback alive, particularly for a fight against the Brit.

However, despite Masvidal sitting outside the rankings and Leon Edwards holding a top-10 position, the matchup still looks unlikely on paper. Still, Jorge Masvidal has his own reasons for believing the UFC could eventually make the fight happen.

Jorge Masvidal sees Leon Edwards as a low-hanging fruit

Former champion Leon Edwards currently experiences a downturn in his career, with his last victories coming before summer 2025. At the moment, ‘Rocky’ comes off recent losses against fighters such as Carlos Prates, Sean Brady, and Belal Muhammad, which leads Jorge Masvidal to view him as “low-hanging fruit” for a comeback in the division. Beyond that, Masvidal and Edwards are now at a similar stage in their careers, which further pushes ‘Gamebred’ to demand a matchup.

“I think he’s got like four losses,” Jorge Masvidal said on Deep Waters. “In a row and like three by KO, so what’s the hold up?”

Masvidal was previously pitching the UFC to book a fight against Leon Edwards at the UFC White House event, trying to build a major US vs. UK storyline. However, the UFC did not book the fight. Now, considering Masvidal’s strong claims, do you think Dana White & Co. should revisit this fight? Drop your take below.