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Jorge Masvidal senses an opportunity in the welterweight division after Kamaru Usman's loss at UFC 278.
Following Leon Edwards' shock win over the longtime welterweight king, the landscape of the division seems to have changed. For former two-time challenger Masvidal, the only obstacle in his path to the title was the now-former champion Kamaru Usman.
'Gamebred' tweeted in the aftermath of the UFC 278 main event with a bold prediction:
"I will be the ww champ of the ufc soon"
Fans were quick to troll his championship ambitions and dismiss him. One fan, @canerovic7, sarcastically lauded him as a future champion, but in the WWE and not the UFC:
"You will be the wwe champ my man"
Other fans reacted to his tweet with similarly humorous comments:
Fans also brought up his current three-fight skid. Two of those losses came against former champ Kamaru Usman in title fights so it is no surprise to see Masvidal feel optimistic now that he is no longer the champion.
Other fans informed him that he must win before he can be considered a part of the title picture again:
A small minority, however, backed him to get back to winning ways:
Jorge Masvidal and welterweight champion Leon Edwards have history
Masvidal is not as familiar with Leon Edwards as he is with the former champion. 'Rocky' and 'Gamebred' have never met in the octagon but that hasn't stopped the two from skirmishing outside of it.
The two had an altercation after a UFC London event in March 2019. Masvidal, fresh off of upsetting the English crowd by knocking out Darren Till, targeted Edwards backstage.
The welterweight contenders exchanged words and Masvidal surprised Edwards with a few punches.
Watch their backstage encounter here:
Jorge Masvidal described his actions as reactionary and coined the 'three-piece and a soda' phrase, referring to the combo he used against 'Rocky'. The same phrase made a comeback after Edwards was crowned welterweight champion at UFC 278.
Masvidal posted on his Instagram story with emojis depicting his phrase:
"I heard we going to London again [England flag] [three chicken pieces] [soda]"
Jorge Masvidal is looking to face the newly crowned champion for the first time. Considering his recent losses, it's unlikely that he'll be the first in line amongst a host of other contenders in the welterweight division.
Check out his Instagram story posted on Twitter by MMAFighting.com:
