UFC President Dana White is giving the winner of Nate Diaz vs. Leon Edwards, who collide at the UFC 263 pay-per-view (PPV) event this Sat. night (June 12, 2021) inside Gila River Arena in Glendale, Arizona, the next shot at the welterweight title.
Behind No. 1 contender Colby Covington.
“Colby is the number one contender,” White told Submission Radio. “We did the (Jorge) Masvidal fight, (Kamaru) Usman wanted that fight back. Colby Covington, the fight with Colby and Usman is one of the best fight’s I’ve ever seen in my life. He’s the number one contender. It’s the fight to make. Whoever wins is next after Colby.”
Usman stopped Covington at UFC 245 back in late 2019.
Diaz, 36, is currently unranked at 170 pounds, which should not come as a surprise when you consider that A) he’s a career lightweight with double-digit losses and B) just 1-1 over the last five years, having recently come up short against Masvidal at UFC 244.
I guess that’s one of the perks of being a Top 5 PPV draw.