The welterweight co-main event between Nate Diaz and Leon Edwards at UFC 262 has been postponed after Diaz suffered a minor and undisclosed injury. Diaz will still fight Edwards next, but it will be at UFC 263 in June.
Fans were surprised when the fight was initially announced. It was unusual in many ways as the fight was set to be a first-ever non-title co-main event in the history of the UFC.
Also, it was very surprising to see Diaz back in action against the cream of the crop welterweight contender. Nevertheless, it has been reported that the fight will remain a 5-rounder.
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Leon Edwards vs. Nate Diaz has been postponed to UFC 263 on June 12, sources confirmed to @marc_raimondi.
It will remain a five-round, non-title fight. pic.twitter.com/FnqDPie4sM
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) May 4, 2021
The UFC 262 pay-per-view will go down on May 15th. The card will be headlined by the lightweight title fight between Michael Chandler and Charles Oliveira.
Now, with Diaz vs Edwards moved, it remains to be seen if the UFC pushes Tony Ferguson vs Beneil Dariush to the co-main event spot.
It is also confirmed that Diaz is only interested in fighting Edwards next. The UFC 263 card already has two title fights in it.
Israel Adesanya defends his middleweight belt against surging contender Marvin Vettori. Deiveson Figueiredo and Brandon Moreno will re-run their epic flyweight title fight that ended in a draw.
Diaz is committed to fighting Edwards and only Edwards next, I’m told.
It’s been one delay after the next for the Brit, unfortunately.
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) May 4, 2021
Edwards returned to the Octagon, back in March, for the first time in almost 2 years when he fought Belal Muhammad. However, an accidental eye-poke brought a quick end to his return and the fight was declared a no-contest due to Muhammad’s injury.
But Edwards believed he had shown enough to prove he is the better fighter and deserves a title shot next.
Nate Diaz vs. Leon Edwards is expected to be a war
Edwards got his big fight as he was booked against Diaz. The Stockton native hasn’t fought since his UFC 244 loss against Jorge Masvidal in 2019.
It surprised many when he was put in back there against a top contender like Edwards. However, that’s shouldn’t come as much of a surprise considering the trajectory of Diaz’s career.
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via Getty
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – NOVEMBER 02: Nate Diaz of the United States enters the ring for his fight against Jorge Masvidal (not pictured) of the United States in the Welterweight “BMF” championship bout during UFC 244 at Madison Square Garden on November 02, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Steven Ryan/Getty Images)
It’s unfortunate for the fans that they won’t get to see the exciting fight go down this month. But it should be a barn-burner when the fight eventually happens at UFC 263 next month.
What did you make of the latest news? Let us know.
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