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Nate Diaz-Leon Edwards bout moved to June 12 after Diaz suffers injury

Kevin Iole
·Senior boxing/MMA columnist
·2 min read
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - NOVEMBER 02: Nate Diaz of the United States fights against Jorge Masvidal (not pictured) of the United States in the Welterweight
An unspecified minor injury to Nate Diaz has forced his fight against Leon Edwards to be rescheduled from UFC 262 on May 15 in Houston to UFC 263 on June 12 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Steven Ryan/Getty Images) (Steven Ryan via Getty Images)

An unspecified minor injury to Nate Diaz has pushed his bout against Leon Edwards back a month, a source familiar with the UFC’s plans told Yahoo Sports on Monday.

Diaz had been slated to fight the No. 3-ranked Edwards in a five-round welterweight bout at UFC 262 on May 15 in Houston in the card’s co-main event.

Instead, it has been pushed back roughly a month, to UFC 263 on June 12 in Glendale, Arizona. It is not yet clear whether that bout will still be a five-rounder, given that there are two title fights on the show in Glendale. Middleweight champion Israel Adesanya will meet Marvin Vettori in the main event, while flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo rematches with Brandon Moreno in the co-main event.

UFC 262 will be headlined by a bout for the vacant lightweight title between Charles Oliveira and Michael Chandler. The UFC hasn’t announced a replacement for the co-main event, but Tony Ferguson is scheduled to fight Beneil Dariush at UFC 262 and that could take over.

Diaz hasn’t fought since losing a match for the BMF Championship to Jorge Masvidal on Nov. 2, 2019, at UFC 244 in New York. Then-President Donald Trump was among those in attendance at Madison Square Garden for that show.

Edwards is coming off a no-contest bout on March 13 against Belal Muhammad. Muhammad was poked in the eye and was unable to continue. Prior to that bout, Edwards hadn’t fought since July 20, 2019.

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