Nate Diaz has been talking to the press ahead of his upcoming August boxing match with influencer turned professional boxer, Jake Paul. At the press conferences, aside from a set-up question from one of Paul’s team calling out Nate’s brother, Nick Diaz, it was largely uneventful. We gave you an idea of what the fight itself might look like, which you can find here.
At the press conference, Diaz was asked about former opponent and current UFC welterweight champion, Leon Edwards. Answering the question, the Stockton native replied “I don’t think I’m over him either, too. 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.”
The two men faced off against each other back at UFC 263 in June 2021 before Edwards was champion and before Diaz fought out his contract. It wasn’t a particularly competitive fight, with Edwards dominating wherever the fight went. That was until Diaz landed a huge straight and rocked Edwards. Diaz could arguably have finished Edwards, instead, he decided to stand in the octagon and point at Edwards. It was a ‘cool’ moment, but getting the win would have been even cooler.
GLENDALE, ARIZONA – JUNE 12: (L-R) Nate Diaz taunts Leon Edwards of Jamaica in their welterweight fight during the UFC 263 event at Gila River Arena on June 12, 2021 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)
Post UFC 263, Edwards went on to be victorious over Kamaru Usman, winning the title with a savage head kick. Usman then went to Edwards’ backyard in London and was outpointed over 25 minutes.
Diaz returned at UFC 279 and during a crazy fight week went from facing Khamzat Chimaev on the Friday of fight week to actually facing Tony Ferguson in a match-up of fan-favourite legends. It marked the last fight on Diaz’s UFC contract and he would go out on a win with a fourth-round guillotine choke. Next, as we know, he faces Jake Paul in his professional boxing debut.
