Leon Edwards will take on Nate Diaz at UFC 262 on 15 May in the promotion’s first ever five-round co-main event.
The card will be headlined by Michael Chandler and Charles Oliveira’s clash for the lightweight title recently vacated by Khabib Nurmagomedov, with Edwards and Diaz’s supporting contest consisting of five rounds – if it goes the distance – as opposed to the usual three.
Edwards (18-3, 1 NC) ended a 20-month absence from the Octagon last month as the 29-year-old took on Belal Muhammad – a late replacement for Khamzat Chimaev, who was still suffering the effects of coronavirus.
The pair’s main event ended in disappointing fashion, however, a no contest being ruled as Muhammad was unable to continue after suffering an eye poke from Edwards.
Edwards’ previous bout saw the third-ranked welterweight outpoint former lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos in July 2019 – the Birmingham native’s eighth straight win in a streak stretching back to 2016.
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Fan favourite Diaz (20-12), meanwhile, last stepped in the ring in November 2019, when a doctor stoppage saw the American, 35, lose to compatriot Jorge Masvidal in a main-event contest at Madison Square Garden in New York.
UFC 262’s stacked card will also see former interim lightweight champion Tony Ferguson take on Beneil Dariush, while Shane Burgos faces Edson Barboza in a featherweight bout, and middleweights Jack Hermansson and Edmen Shahbazyan go head-to-head.
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Furthermore, The Independent exclusively revealed on Wednesday that Briton Mike Grundy will take on Lando Vannata at the event, marking the latter’s first contest at featherweight.
UFC 262 will take place at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas.
