'He's a good name to add to my resumé' - Leon Edwards explains why fighting Nate Diaz could help his UFC career
Leon Edwards believes a win over Nate Diaz will be good for his resume. In the co-main event of the upcoming UFC 262 pay-per-view, Rocky will face Diaz in a five-round non-title fight, and Edwards definitely knows the magnitude of a potential win against Diaz.
During his recent interview with ESPN's Ariel Helwani, Leon Edwards mentioned how Nate Diaz has been around for a long time and has fought some of the sport's best guys. Hence, a win over him would do a world of good to Edwards' resume.
"He's been around for a long time, so this would be a good name to add to my resume."
Leon Edwards further added that he wasn't really surprised that Diaz chose him as his return opponent. Rocky asserted that his skill-set would be hard for Diaz to tackle. Edwards also stated that facing a natural welterweight like him is going to be a tough ask for the returning Diaz.
However, Edwards is confident about having an entertaining fight against Nate at UFC 262.
"I'm the only guy who's winning. So I wasn't really shocked. I know it's gonna be hard work for him to come against a natural welterweight, one that can switch southpaw, orthodox, fight both stances, got great wrestling, great jiu-jitsu. I like his mental attitude to the game, I like the way he thinks of it. It's gonna be an entertaining fight."
The fight will mark Diaz's return to the Octagon for the first time since 2019, when he lost to Jorge Masvidal in a controversial ending to the main event of UFC 244.
Leon Edwards will look to break into the title picture with a win at UFC 262
After his controversial No Contest fight against Belal Muhammad recently, Leon Edwards called for a title shot. However, the UFC has instead booked him in a huge fight against the returning Nate Diaz.
The co-main event fight will be the first non-title five-round bout in UFC history. The rest of the UFC 262 pay-per-view will also feature cracking names like Tony Ferguson, Beneil Dariush, Charles Oliveira and Michael Chandler.