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Nate Diaz returned to the octagon on Saturday for the first time since his BMF title fight at UFC 244 against Jorge Masvidal in November 2019.
The Stockton slugger faced third-ranked welterweight Leon Edwards in a five-round, non-title, non-main-event fight at UFC 263 and came up short.
Nate Diaz lost the fight on June 12, 2021 to Leon Edwards in a unanimous decision with 49-46 scores across the board.
However, the younger Diaz brother definitely won the hearts of everyone present at the Gila River Arena in Glendale, Arizona, as well as everyone watching at home.
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Nate Diaz almost sealed the deal against Leon Edwards
With the kind of presence that Nate Diaz has, he inevitably becomes the focus of everyone's attention in any given situation.
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Be it lighting up a marijuana joint during a press conference when fellow fighters are having heated arguments, or slapping his opponent inside the octagon just for fun, there is no one like Nate Diaz.
The unique personality of the Stockton native has earned him a loyal fanbase, who would pay to watch Nate Diaz do literally anything, which automatically makes him 'must-see television'.
Something similar happened inside the cage at UFC 263, where once again Nate Diaz walked away as the absolute star of the evening despite dropping a decision and losing a fight.
Also Read: Nate Diaz reveals when he wants to fight next after UFC 263 loss
Leon Edwards dominated Nate Diaz for the better part of the bout and it became abundantly clear towards the end of the fifth round that 'Rocky' would be the one to take home the 'win' unless Diaz managed to finish the fight - and much to everyone's shock, he almost did.
Nate Diaz absolutely demolished Leon Edwards in the last minute of the fight and at one point even rocked him hard enough to nearly walk away with the knockout.
But Nate Diaz refused to capitalize on the opportunity, and instead chose to point at his opponent and laugh - something only he would think of doing inside the cage.
Nate Diaz then went on to chase down Leon Edwards with a flurry of strikes and caused more hurt than he probably did in the entire fight.
Catch the last minute of the fight below:
If that was not enough, Nate Diaz then thanked everybody for the love and support for himself and the 'Nick Diaz Army', and invited everyone to his house for an after-party.
Watch: Nate Diaz celebrates with fans at UFC 263 after-party as promised
Perhaps it is time he gets a second shot at the BMF title after all...
