"The game has just passed him up" - Anthony Smith cannot see where Nate Diaz can beat Leon Edwards

Anthony Smith has suggested that the upcoming fight between Nate Diaz and Leon Edwards will likely end with Edwards emerging victorious.

‘Lionheart’ had words of high praise for both ‘The Stockton Slugger’ and ‘Rocky’ ahead of UFC 263. A one-time UFC light heavyweight title challenger, Anthony Smith chimed in with his views on the UFC 263 welterweight bout between Nate Diaz and Leon Edwards.

Speaking to James Lynch regarding the Nate Diaz vs Leon Edwards fight, Anthony Smith stated –

“I gotta preface this with, like, I’m a huge Nate Diaz fan, huge Nate Diaz fan. I love his interviews. I love what he brings to the game. I love his attitude. I love his outlook on the game. I love it all. The game has just passed him up. He just hasn’t evolved quick enough. And he’s not a young guy; he’s got a lot of miles, a lot of wars."

"And I’m really high on Leon Edwards. I think that dude is just fantastic everywhere. I just don’t see, I don’t see where Nate Diaz can beat Leon Edwards. He’s not going to knock him out. He may be able to wear him out, but we haven’t seen Nate Diaz do that to anybody in a long time. The last person he did that to was Conor McGregor, and that was a significant amount of time ago. So, I have to go with Leon Edwards, but that doesn’t mean I don’t still got a lot of love for Nate Diaz.” (*H/T Sportskeeda for the transcription)

Anthony Smith aims to earn another title shot; Nate Diaz fights Leon Edwards in a title-eliminator matchup

Nate Diaz (left); Leon Edwards (right)

Presently, Anthony Smith is on a two-fight win streak. His last fight saw him secure a first-round TKO win over Jimmy Crute at UFC 261 (April 2021). Smith came up short in a UFC light heavyweight title fight against Jon Jones in 2019, and he’s been working his way back to another title shot ever since.

Meanwhile, Nate Diaz and Leon Edwards face off in a UFC welterweight title-eliminator matchup at UFC 263 on June 12th, 2021. The fight will be the first five-round non-title non-main event bout in UFC history.

It was originally set to transpire at UFC 262, but a minor injury suffered by Nate Diaz led to the fight being rescheduled for UFC 263. The winner of the fight is expected to compete in a UFC welterweight title bout in their next octagon appearance.