Nate Diaz vs. Leon Edwards won’t be happening this month at UFC 262.
Diaz (20-12 MMA, 15-10 UFC) has suffered a minor injury, the exact nature of which is unknown at this time, and his welterweight matchup with Edwards (18-3 MMA, 10-2 UFC) has been postponed from the May 15 event in Houston to UFC 263 on June 12. It will remain a five-round fight.
MMA Junkie verified the change with multiple people close to the situation following an initial report from Yahoo! Sports. The people requested anonymity because UFC has yet to make an official announcement.
UFC 263 will takes place at the Gila River Arena in Glendale, Ariz. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and ESPN+.
Diaz, 36, has not competed or been booked since a November 2019 “BMF” title loss to Jorge Masvidal. One of the most popular fighters in UFC history, Diaz remained active on Twitter during his time away from the cage, taking shots at potential future opponents from time to time.
Having not lost since 2015, Edwards, 29, rode an eight-fight winning streak into his March 13 main event clash against Belal Muhammad. The fight ended in Round 2 after Edwards poked Muhammad in the eye and rendered him unable to continue.
The latest UFC 263 lineup now includes:
- Israel Adesanya vs. Marvin Vettori – for middleweight title
- Deiveson Figueiredo vs. Brandon Moreno – for flyweight title
- Nate Diaz vs. Leon Edwards
- Demian Maia vs. Belal Muhammad
- Paul Craig vs. Jamahal Hill
- Drew Dober vs. Brad Riddell
- Jake Collier vs. Carlos Felipe
- Luigi Vendramini vs. Fares Ziam
- Hakeem Dawodu vs. Movsar Evloev
- Sijara Eubanks vs. Karol Rosa
- Joanne Calderwood vs. Lauren Murphy
- Frank Camacho vs. Matt Frevola
- Chase Hooper vs. Steven Peterson