Leon Edwards could make it nine straight wins when he meets Nate Diaz at UFC 262.
The top welterweight contender has been installed as a heavy favorite by the oddsmakers at BetOnline.ag for his upcoming co-main event bout with Diaz on May 15 at Toyota Center in Houston, with Edwards currently at -350.
That means bettors will have to wager $350 on Edwards to net $100 in winnings. On the other side, Diaz is a +285 underdog, so a $100 bet wins $285.
Edwards (18-3, 1 NC) recently returned to action against Belal Muhammad in the main event of a UFC Vegas show on March 13. Their bout ended in a no contest when Muhammad suffered an accidental eye poke in round two that left him unable to continue. Prior to that no contest, Edwards defeated eight straight opponents, including Rafael dos Anjos, Gunnar Nelson, and Donald Cerrone.
Diaz (20-12), a longtime lightweight, has had mixed results in a quartet of high-profile bouts since jumping back up to the 170-pound division. He’s alternated wins and losses in his past four fights, most recently losing by TKO (doctor stoppage) to Jorge Masvidal in a “BMF” title fight at UFC 244 in November 2019. He returned from a three-year hiatus to defeat Anthony Pettis by unanimous decision at UFC 241 and also met Conor McGregor in a two-fight series at welterweight in 2016, winning the first encounter by second-round submission and dropping the second by majority decision.
In eight UFC appearances at welterweight, Diaz holds a 4-4 record.
Edwards and Diaz co-headline UFC 262, which is currently scheduled to feature a vacant lightweight title fight between Charles Oliveira and Michael Chandler. The Edwards-Diaz bout will be the first five-round non-title, non-main event in UFC history.