UFC welterweight veteran, Nate Diaz appears to be taking solace and a moral victory in his unanimous decision loss to Leon Edwards back in 2021, claiming he is “still king” at 170lbs – despite the latter’s successful title defense against Kamaru Usman at UFC 286 over the weekend in London.
Diaz, a former welterweight contender, lightweight title contender and victor of The Ultimate Fighter during his tenure under the UFC banner, bowed out of the promotion last year, most recently headlining UFC 279 back in September.
The Stockton native took main event honors in a reworked welterweight headliner against former interim lightweight champion, Tony Ferguson – submitting the Oxnard veteran with a stunning fourth round guillotine choke submission.
Linked with a slew of potential moves since his departure from the Octagon – Nate Diaz, who was revealed as an initial candidate to serve as an opposing coach on The Ultimate Fighter 31 against former two-time foe, Conor McGregor, has yet to ink terms with any organization following his exit from the UFC.
Sharing the Octagon with Birmingham native, Edwards at UFC 263 back in June of 2021, Diaz suffered a one-sided unanimous decision loss to the former, however, in the final moments of their five round clash, managed to wobble and stun Edwards on the feet – claiming a moral victory in the aftermath of the main card clash.
Nate Diaz says he lays claim to the welterweight crown despite Leon Edwards’ UFC 286 win
And despite securing his first successful title defense over the course of last weekend in England against three-time opponent, Usman in the pair’s trilogy rubber match – Edwards nabbed a majority decision win over the Auchi native, however, Diaz claims he’s “still king” at welterweight.
“Still (crown emoji),” Nate Diaz tweeted following UFC 286, accompanied by a promotional video of him wobbling Leon Edwards during their June 2021 welterweight showdown.
Still
pic.twitter.com/QytwN2ucEL
— Nathan Diaz (@NateDiaz209) March 19, 2023
