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Leon Edwards was watching UFC 287 in April when he saw the last brief moments of his chance to settle a grudge against Jorge Masvidal fade away.
A controversial backstage brawl between the fighters at a UFC London event in 2019 seemed to set the stage for their final confrontation, with Masvidal punching Edwards many times before security stepped in.
The fight ultimately never happened, but after Edwards won the UFC welterweight title this past August, he held out the tiniest shred of hope that maybe Masvidal might reinvent himself as a serious contender so they could finally settle their issues in the ring.
Unfortunately, Masvidal lost to Gilbert Burns by unanimous decision at UFC 287 and then declared his retirement from fighting, ending Edwards' opportunity to win.
“That was the fight to make even after the [Ben] Askren fight,” Edwards told MMA Fighting when asked about Masvidal. “That was the fight to make straight away, but for some reason they didn’t want to make it.
“I think [at UFC 287], he showed his age. He’s what, 37 or 38? He looked slow in there. He got fatigued within a round or so. I don’t think either of them looked great, him or Gilbert. Gilbert was just the better man that night, but I think it’s probably good for him to retire.”