Nate Diaz shares high praise for former opponent and current UFC champion Leon Edwards: “He’s great”

Former UFC star Nate Diaz has praised former opponent Leon Edwards for his work ethic, almost two years on from their UFC 263 collision.

On August 5, former UFC sensation Nate Diaz will return to combat sports. However, as opposed to mixed martial arts, he’ll be venturing into the squared circle for a boxing match. When he does, he’ll go head to head with Jake Paul in a meeting that has been years in the making.

Diaz was able to finish up his UFC career with a nice submission win over Tony Ferguson. However, prior to that, he took on a series of other tough foes – including Leon Edwards.

When they met at UFC 263, Edwards controlled the majority of the bout and left Diaz with a crimson mask. In the final minute of the contest, though, Nate caught Leon with a nice shot, and came close to finishing him.

Now, in a recent interview with MMA Junkie, Diaz admitted that he has a lot of respect for ‘Rocky’.

“I don’t think I’m over him either, too. He’s great, he’s a great fighter also. It’d be cool if he hung onto [UFC welterweight title] for a while, and he deserves it. Trains hard and works hard.”

Diaz praises Edwards

In a game like MMA, respect goes a long way. Diaz knows that, despite losing to Edwards, he was the one who came out looking great as a result of his late comeback. Now, Birmingham’s finest is the UFC welterweight champion.

It may seem unlikely on the face of it, but we wouldn’t be shocked to see them run it back at some point in the future.

Do you agree with Nate Diaz? How long do you believe Leon Edwards will hold the UFC welterweight title? Let us know in the comments, BJPENN Nation!