Nate Diaz is not in the business of complimenting fellow fighters so when it happens we need to take notice.
Earlier this week, Diaz paid tribute to current UFC welterweight champion and former foe, Leon Edwards. Remember, Diaz and Edwards fought in a five-round welterweight fight back at UFC 263 in 2021. Edwards ended up winning the fight by a landslide, but he nearly lost in the final minutes when Diaz unloaded an offensive onslaught.
Diaz, who was arrested last month in connection with a New Orleans street brawl, is expected to meet social media star, Jake Paul, in a boxing match this coming August. The two came face-to-face for the first time this week for their pre-fight press conference (watch HERE). That’s when Diaz was asked about Edwards and what he thought of the current UFC champion.
“I don’t think I’m over him either, too,” Diaz told reporters. “He’s great. He’s a great fighter also, and it’d be cool if he hung on to (the UFC title) for a while and he deserves it. Trains hard and works hard.”
Edwards, 31, waited years to get his first shot at UFC gold. It finally came at UFC 278 back in Aug. 2022 against then champion, Kamaru Usman. It looked like Usman was going to cruise to another title defense before “Rocky” landed the most infamous head kick of all time, secured the knockout finish, and walked away with the UFC welterweight title. Usman got his rematch at UFC 286 this past March and ended up losing again to Edwards via majority decision.
As for Diaz, he only fought once more following his loss to Edwards. It happened at UFC 279 last September when Diaz saw his bout with Khamzat Chimaev go up in flames and was later matched up against Tony Ferguson. Diaz ended up submitting Ferguson to cap off his UFC career and set him up for a massive boxing match with “Problem Child” this summer.
This story originally appeared on MMA Mania
