Leon Edwards already has his first title defense in mind ahead of his welterweight title bout with Kamaru Usman at UFC 278.

The Brit hopes to fight ‘bum’ Jorge Masvidal in the UK should he get past Usman in the UFC 278 main event and take the belt back home to England.

Edwards and Masvidal have unfinished business dating back to 2019 when the pair got into a scuffle backstage at UFC London following their respective victories over Gunnar Nelson and Darren Till.

Both men were expected to meet last year at UFC 269, but Masvidal withdrew due to injury, and the fight was called off.

Eight months later, ‘Rocky’ has reignited their rivalry in the hopes of setting up his first title defense against ‘Gamebred’ in the UK.

“That guy is a bum, I didn’t see his call out but he’s a bum anyway,” Edwards told talkSPORT ahead of UFC 278. 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.”

The entire landscape of the UFC welterweight division changed on Saturday night after Leon Edwards knocked out dominant champion Kamaru Usman with a headkick in the final minute of their UFC 278 fight (watch the KO finish here).

Usman hadn’t just beaten some of the best contenders at 170 pounds, he beat them twice. Colby Covington and Jorge Masvidal had no route back to title contendership so long as “The Nigerian Nightmare” held the title. So it’s not surprising that Masvidal was excited to see “Rocky” switch things up.

Masvidal and Edwards have history from a UFC London card in March 2019. Masvidal had just knocked out Darren Till in the main event, while Edwards decisioned Gunnar Nelson in the co-main.

The two victorious fighters had an altercation backstage that resulted in Masvidal swinging on Edwards, hitting him with what “Gamebred” coined ‘the three-piece and soda.’

Masvidal brought the saying back in his callout of the new welterweight champion, writing on Instagram “I heard we going to London again.”

Masvidal’s agent Malki Kawa added “3 piece and a soda time. Yes we except [sic] Leon Edwards.”

But do Leon Edwards and the UFC accept Jorge Masvidal? Leading up to UFC 278, Edwards told talkSPORT “I’ll give the bum the opportunity to come fight for the title just to show everyone how s— he is.” At the post-fight press conference, Usman was a bit more measured.

“Jorge would be good, but he needs to go get a win, you know? Having him in the UK would be good. Back where the first incident happened. But if not, let’s run it back in Wembley with Kamaru.”

“Like I said, that was the best he had to offer, and that was the worst I had to offer, and I still got the finish. Let them all come, they’re calling me out, first they doubted me, now they’re calling me out.”

Jorge Masvidal is on a three fight losing streak, but not all losses are created equal. “Gamebred’s” three losses come to Kamaru Usman twice and Colby Covington, fighters at the absolute top of the division. Given Jorge’s popularity and the history with Leon, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the UFC grant him a title shot.

Jorge Masvidal references the infamous three piece and a soda on his Instagram story 👀 #UFC278 pic.twitter.com/P1L31xXC4A

— MMAFighting.com (@MMAFighting) August 21, 2022