Nate Diaz will be making his return against top welterweight contender Leon Edwards in a special five round co-feature at UFC 262.
The UFC has added a special co-main event for their second pay-per-view that have the return of a packed arena as top ranked welterweight contender Leon Edwards will meet former title challenger Nate Diaz at UFC 262 on May 14. The bout is scheduled for five rounds, a first for any non-title undercard bout in UFC history. ESPN was first to announce the news.
The bout is the highest profile fight yet for Edwards (18-3, 1NC), who in recent years has emerged as one of the most consistent fighters in the welterweight division. His nine fight streak without a loss is amongst the longest currently in the UFC and is second only behind the current champion Kamaru Usman who has 13. Most recently, “Rocky” fought ranked contender Belal Muhammad earlier this month in a fight that ended in a No Contest after an accidental eye-poke from Edwards ended the bout prematurely.
Diaz (20-12) will be competing for the first time since fighting Jorge Masvidal in November of 2019 for the one-off BMF championship belt. Diaz has had a rather inactive schedule over the past several years, but has nonetheless proven himself as one of the top draws in the company following two pay-per-view record setting bouts against Conor McGregor in 2016. After a three year hiatus, Diaz had returned in 2019 to defeat Anthony Pettis and set up the fight with Masvidal. Diaz had previously been in talks for a possible return against Masvidal before the UFC elected to go in another direction for “Gamebred”.
The UFC 262 card is scheduled to be headlined by the lightweight title fight between Charles Oliveira and Michael Chandler. The event is set to take place at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas.
