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Undisputed middleweight champion Israel Adesanya came face-to-face with Nick and Nate Diaz backstage at UFC 263. 'The Last Stylebender' gracefully showed respect to the Diaz brothers, embracing the iconic combat sports duo for their legendary MMA careers.
In a short clip released on the UFC's Twitter handle, Israel Adesanya's backstage interaction with Francis Ngannou and the Diaz brothers was captured on camera.
Upon spotting Nate Diaz in the crowd, the Kiwi champion approached the 'Stockton Slugger' and lauded him for the fifth round onslaught he brought against Leon Edwards tonight.
In response, Nate Diaz congratulated Adesanya on his third consecutive middleweight title defense at UFC 263. Adesanya then shook Nick Diaz's hand and gave a nod of respect to the former Strikeforce champion.
Watch the backstage encounter between Israel Adesanya and the Diaz brothers below:
Nate Diaz reacts to his last-minute barrage of punches at UFC 263
Nate Diaz was predominantly dominated by Leon Edwards throughout the five-rounds in their featured bout tonight. However, known for pushing the pace in the later rounds, Diaz caught Edwards flush with a combination in the fifth frame. 'Rocky' was evidently hurt from the punches as he wobbled back towards the fence to evade Diaz's barrage of punches. Reflecting on tonight's defeat, Nate Diaz said:
"In a real fight, in the real world, that's a wrap. He was sleepwalking," said Nate Diaz.
Nate Diaz has been out of action since his UFC 244 headliner fight against Jorge Masvidal in 2019. Coming off a long hiatus, the younger of the Diaz brothers decided to take on Leon Edwards to get back into title contention. However, a cut during training put a halt to Diaz's comeback for UFC 262.
"I want to fight in three or four months. I want to hop back in there. Just to heal up; if I was unscathed, would be back next week. I was just not motivated to train anymore because I had already put in all the hard work for the last fight in Texas where it was supposed to be. And now I had to linger on for another f**king month. It just s**ked. Roll with the punches, do what I had to do to get here," added Nate Diaz.
Check out Nate Diaz's press conference following UFC 263 below:
