Following his barn burning clash with the #3 ranked UFC welterweight contender, Leon Edwards, fan favourite, Nate Diaz shared a joint post-fight with his elder brother, Nick Diaz — who was in attendance both front and centre during the fight, and afterwards backstage during the former’s post-fight press conference.
Meeting with Birmingham native, Edwards in the promotion’s first-ever five round, non-title, non-main event in their history, Diaz suffered a rather one-sided unanimous decision 49-46 (x3) against the former, finding himself on the receiving end of some notable, heavy calf kicks to his lead southpaw right, as well as some slicing elbows which opened significant cuts on the side of his head and around his left eye.
Rallying late in the final minute of the fifth and final round, Diaz managed to land a massive one-two, jab-straight combination on Edwards’ chin, drawing out a massive wobble as Edwards attempted to clear the cobwebs at the Octagon fence. Circling away and tying up in the clinch, Edwards was then clipped just above his ear with a right hand from Diaz on the break, resulting in another stumble.
Surviving to the final klaxon, Edwards admitted that Diaz did have him in some trouble in the final minute of the fight, however, with the Stockton native unable to capitalise and score what would have been one of the biggest comebacks wins in the history of the UFC.
Appearing backstage afterward during the post-fight press conference, Diaz shared a joint with his elder brother, Nick as he answered questions from the assembled press — commenting on his brother’s highly-speculated possible Octagon return later this year.
“Yeah, it’s good that the world’s moving again,” Diaz said. “And sh*t’s getting back to normal, so if my brother’s around me, that’s the best thing that can happen — that’s the greatest fighter of all time as far as I’m concerned. So whenever he wants to make that move and whenever they (the UFC) wants to make that move and make something big with him, well then there’s nothing better you could see in martial arts. And I’m gonna ride the momentum with him and fight next and do it the same way we’ve always done it with the whole team, Cesar Grace fight team. So I think if that’s gonna happen, that’s the best news for MMA.
Saturday’s outing came as Diaz’s first since November of 2019, where he headlined UFC 244 against Jorge Masvidal in a symbolic BMF championship fight, losing via a third round doctor’s stoppage.
For elder brother, Nick Diaz, the former WEC and Strikeforce titleholder is according to UFC president, Dana White, edging closer than ever to a comeback this year, with the matchmakers actively discussing potential fights with him. The 37-year-old last featured in an eventual ‘No Contest’ against former middleweight champion, Anderson Silva back in January of 2015.