Leon Edwards up against Lionel Messi and Nikola Jokic for ESPY's best Championship performance in 2023

Leon Edwards is in the same category as Lionel Messi and Nikola Jokic for the ESPY Best Championship Performance.

The Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly (ESPY) is an award presented by the American broadcaster ABC to the best athletes of the year. The award is highly coveted and UFC fighters have previously won on the global stage. The latest name trying to add himself to the list is Leon Edwards for his fifth-round head kick knockout against Kamaru Usman.

The magnitude of the fight and the kick was one of the biggest events in UFC history. However, he is up against some stiff competition. Lionel Messi's two goals in the World Cup Final led his national team to win the cup after 36 long years, believed to be the most coveted accomplishment in all of soccer. Messi was also crowned Man of the Match and won Player of the Tournament.

Also on the list is Nikola Jokic, the 2023 NBA Finals MVP that carried the Denver Nuggets to their first-ever NBA Championships. He was also crowned the Finals MVP, and fans believe he was robbed of the NBA 2023 season MVP.

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Jorge Masvidal says nothing personal against Leon Edwards but Colby Covington is a different situation

Jorge Masvidal has retired from the UFC and will now enjoy his retirement as one of the foremost voices in the sport. The Miami native recently appeared on BS W/ Jake Paul to talk about all things UFC.

When asked about his rivalries inside the octagon, 'Gamebred' had this to say about his strife with Leon Edwards and Colby Covington:

"With me and Leon [Edwards], it was never personal," said Masvidal. "He just crossed a line, like, bro, I'm doing an interview, you're trying to punk me again. That's not going to happen. He's already talking wild and s*** on Twitter, but I don't have nothing personal. Colby [Covington is] just a different situation. That motherf*****, I just don't like his a*s."

Although he has no hard feelings for Edwards, Edwards stated that he does not like Covington one bit. The pair are former roommates and best friends turned rivals who ended up fighting each other in the octagon and then had a scuffle outside the octagon as well. The pair are currently battling out a court case for the incident that took place between them outside a Miami club.