Add Leon Edwards to the list of fighters that want to face Nick Diaz.
After Diaz’s manager told ESPN that Diaz is targeting a 2021 return, Edwards (18-3 MMA, 10-2 UFC) has thrown his name in the mix.
Edwards, who’s won his past eight in a row, has emerged as a welterweight title contender. But “Rocky” is struggling to net a big fight that would push him one step closer to his championship pursuit, and with not many logical options ahead, he loves the idea of a potential Diaz fight.
Diaz (26-9 MMA, 7-6 UFC) hasn’t competed since January 2015 but remains one of the most popular fighters on the roster. While he may be searching for a name that he already has history with, Edwards thinks Diaz has plenty to gain in facing him.
“That fight looks fantastic,” Edwards told “Submission Radio.” “He’s a big name in the sport, he’s been around for a long time, so that fight would be fantastic. It would be better for him (to fight me). If you come and beat me, a guy on an eight-fight win streak, that would put me in line for a title shot, right? So, I think it would be a great fight.
“And to come and beat like the new guy, which is me, the up-and-coming guy that’s dominating everyone, beating everyone, and for him to come back and challenge me – he’ll never beat me, but it’s a good fight, interesting fight. And that fight, I 100 percent want it. I want to compete against Diaz.”
Edwards is confident that he’d prevail in a potential matchup with Diaz and doesn’t think that in almost five years away, Diaz will have evolved.
“I think Nick is Nick, right? Him and his brother are pretty much the same,” Edwards said. “Technically, they’re pretty much the same kind of fighters: boxing-based, jiu-jitsu-based, cardio-based, and they kind of fight the same. So, I think Nick is Nick, and he’d come out the same. There won’t be nothing new. It’ll be the same way of the fight, and that’s just the way their bodies are designed to fight and where they compete. I know if me and him compete, I know I’ll win, and that’s the main thing.”
Leon Edwards would love to welcome Nick Diaz back: ‘That fight looks fantastic’
