Jorge Masvidal picked up one of the biggest wins of his 16-year professional career at UFC Fight Night in London on Saturday — and went straight into a backstage altercation with another welterweight. And believe it or not, that welterweight wasn’t even Ben Askren, who flew to London for the sole purpose of picking a fight!
There was a lot going on at UFC Fight Night on Saturday. What’s next for the winners and losers of the event? Here’s ESPN’s take.
Jorge Masvidal, welterweight
Result: Defeated Darren Till via second-round KO
Next: Leon Edwards
For the record, I thought this was the obvious fight to make before Masvidal gave Edwards the “three piece and a soda” in the tunnel after the event. Masvidal would (obviously) jump at the opportunity of a title shot, but he’s not next in line. Whether you love him or hate him, Colby Covington is next in line. And it’s not close.
That said, Masvidal did just take an immediate leap back into title contention. He went into Saturday on the fringe of that conversation, having lost his past two and taken a year off — but this single victory over Till has his stock skyrocketing. And a win against Edwards, who has now won seven in a row, would solidify him as a serious candidate for a title shot.
Darren Till, welterweight (middleweight)
Result: Lost to Jorge Masvidal via second-round KO
Next: Brad Tavares
Till had plans to visit Canada immediately after the bout. He should let that be the first week of an extended break from action. He’s only 26, and there is absolutely no reason to rush back from this type of loss. He needs to let his body (and brain) heal from this one. No one is questioning his toughness. He should understand this is a time in which he doesn’t need to show it.
When he does come back, the time has come to move to middleweight. Right? He has showed in his past two camps he can safely make welterweight, but there’s not a good reason to do it anymore. Take the fresh start. Tavares is ranked No. 10 by the UFC. He’s a good first opponent there and — coming off an injury of his own — could fall into the same timeframe as Till.
Leon Edwards, welterweight
Result: Defeated Gunnar Nelson via split decision
Next: Jorge Masvidal
Bottom line: Edwards deserves a high-profile fight. He’s earned it. He hasn’t received the credit he deserves — probably because he’s come up short in the way of several finishes, and he’s just a soft-spoken guy. But seven wins in a row in the UFC means something. It means a lot actually. And he’s done it against quality competition.
And now, finally, he’ll have a fight with heat on it. I can understand why this might not be Masvidal’s first choice, coming off the performance he just gave, but it’s clearly the one that makes the most sense. Between ending Edwards’ win streak and the opportunity to build off the postfight altercation, hopefully there’s enough to pique Masvidal’s interest here.
Gunnar Nelson, welterweight
Result: Lost to Leon Edwards via split decision
Next: Elizeu dos Santos
Nelson is so popular, he was the fan favorite in London — even though he fought someone from Birmingham, England. But at this point, it is fair to point out, the biggest win of his career has come against whom? Alex Oliveira? Albert Tumenov? Those are good wins, but they’re not signature, top-10 victories to hang your hat on. And his past three losses to ranked opponents — Leon Edwards, Santiago Ponzinibbio and Demian Maia — were not necessarily that close.
That’s not to discredit how talented Nelson is, but if he wants to truly break into title contention, he needs to beat that level of competition. Is Nelson a legitimate threat to ever win a UFC title? It’s currently up for debate. Another welterweight about whom you could have that same debate is dos Santos. The Brazilian has won seven fights in a row in the UFC. I’d like to know which of these two could potentially shake up the top 10 of this division in the coming years. Let’s find out by pairing them together.
Result: Defeated Volkan Oezdemir via split decision
Next: Jan Blachowicz
There was some controversy on the scorecards here, as it was clear many felt Oezdemir won the bout. Whichever way you saw it, it was close. Reyes’ maintaining his perfect record is significant, though. And while he might have mentioned Jon Jones in his postfight speech, the truth is Reyes has a lot of evolving to do before that fight, and even he knows that.
Just based on rankings alone, this matchup is pretty obvious. Blachowicz just saw a four-fight win streak snapped in February, in a TKO loss to Thiago Santos. He’s teetering on the verge of “gatekeeper” status, and this would be a gatekeeper-type fight for him. If he doesn’t want that label, he’s got to go beat a prospect like Reyes.