UFC 263: Leon Edwards vs Nate Diaz Fight Breakdown and Preview

A Look at the Fighters

Leon Edwards is technically on an eight-fight win streak, beating the likes of Vicente Luque, Donald Cerrone, and Rafael Dos Anjos. Unfortunately in his last time out, Edwards’ fight night main event would end in a no contest. When “Rocky” stepped in the cage with Belal Muhammed, he showed a nice pace with high-level feints and top-tier striking. Edwards would constantly post with his hand opened, and after resetting from a head kick, would accidentally poke Muhammed in the eye.

Leon Edwards vs Nate Diaz has fight of the night written all over it and gives “Rocky” a perfect opportunity to showcase all of his technical abilities and ultimately earn a title shot. Diaz is coming for war, so this feat is definitely easier said than done. Stockton’s son is a master at volume striking and jiu-jitsu that can pull triangles from anywhere. Diaz also has relentless pressure allowing him to clinch up and showcase some real dirty boxing. Edwards has beautiful counters and will make Diaz pay for the simplest of mistakes.

Nate Diaz has been quite inactive in this superstar period of his career with fights and wins against big names such as; Conor McGregor and Anthony Pettis. Diaz has a high-level jiu-jitsu game and should definitely look to take the fight to the ground against Edwards. He is known for trying to lure opponents into his guard to get these submissions; his chin allows him to use heavy strikes that he absorbs to create an illusion of being dropped to do this.

Leon Edwards vs Nate Diaz Breakdown

Using the knowledge we have just gained, let’s break down this fight of the year contender. We have been waiting for Edwards to step back into this cage without controversy since July 20th, 2019. Since then, he has been booked to fight Khamzat Chimaev and the previously mentioned Belal Muhammed. This time around, “Rocky” looks to put on a striking clinic, where his counter shots will create huge problems for Diaz. With scar tissue as damaged as his opponent is, we shouldn’t rule out a doctor stoppage.

Diaz plays a dangerous game and will definitely prioritize slap boxing and clinching against the fence to dictate this fight. For him to have early success, he shouldn’t over-commit and allow any pocket of opportunity in Edwards’ counters. Stockton’s son can create problems for the Brit, with the previously mentioned dirty boxing, but a chin as strong as “Rocky’s” should be able to hold up. 2021 has been a crazy year, so there is no confident prediction anyone can make for this absolute fire-fight.

Leon Edwards vs Nate Diaz gives both men a shot at the title after Colby Covington rematches the current champion, Kamaru Usman. With a motivation this strong, these competitors will be looking to go to war in order to secure themselves a spot at the very top of the toughest division in the sport.

Who do you think will win the Leon Edwards vs Nate Diaz fight? Let us know in the comments below!

Follow me on Twitter @LeoJJohnson20 and follow @OTHeroicsMMA for more great content! And don’t forget our Instagram, overtimeheroics_mma. Come discuss this and much more at the Overtime Heroics forums!

Featured Image Credits to: Embed from Getty Images