Nate Diaz had fought Jorge Masvidal at UFC 244 five years ago but that fight ended in disaster. ‘Gamebred’ suffered a nasty gash above his eye which forced the ring doctor to stop the bout during the third round. Fans were keen for a rematch for a long time and finally, the much-awaited rematch took place, albeit in the boxing ring, with Diaz being the winner this time.

Following his win yesterday, Diaz challenged Leon Edwards which did not sit well with Kamaru Usman. The 37-year-old Nigerian-American played down the abilities of the former UFC fighter and claimed that 170-pound fighters could easily defeat Diaz.

Kamaru Usman criticizes Nate Diaz

The alum of UFC and former lightweight title challenger made his comeback to combat sports in Anheim to take on Masvidal and won. After the win, Diaz said, “I would like to whoop (Jake Paul’s) a*s. I would like to get a win against Leon Edwards, who is the best fighter in the world right now at 170 [pounds].”

However, Usman questioned his rival’s abilities and talked about the Stickton native on the Pound 4 Pound podcast with Henry Cejudo. “He(Nate Diaz) called out Leon Edwards for the strap at 170 pounds. You don’t think Dana White would give it to him?” Cejudo said.

Usman was surprised at Cejudo’s question. “Let’s get serious here, Henry. What?! Henry, you’re a two-division champion, and you came back and you fought Merab (Dvalishvili). So, you had to earn a shot at Sean O’Malley. So, you’re saying he(Nate) should just come in and get it because he has numbers?” the middleweight fighter said.

Usman reckons that Diaz does not deserve the title shot and that any person in the 170 lbs would smoke him. On the other hand, Ryan Garcia was gushing over Diaz and his win.

Ryan Garcia complimented Diaz

Garcia has cordial relations with the former UFC champ and was happy with his majority decision victory over Masvidal at the end of 10 rounds. Garcia was even present on the ringside at the Honda Centre. After the fight, the 25-year-old made it a point to post it on Instagram and celebrated Diaz’s victory.

He even asked Nate Diaz to DM him and give a shout-out to his aunt. “Hey Nate I’m your biggest fan. Please hit me back on my DMS. Would make my aunt’s night. Btw she has a huge crush on you,” Garcia wrote via his official Instagram handle.

Garcia’s younger brother Sean, who was also in the tournament, did not fare well and was defeated by Amado Vargas. The 25-year-old was very disappointed about his brother’s defeat, but Diaz’s victory gave him something to cheer about.