Leon Edwards had a clear upper hand on Nate Diaz when they fought each other at UFC 263 last June. But there was one moment around the final minute of the fight when “Rocky” was put on wobbly legs by a Stockton one-two.
Edwards appeared to be on the brink of defeat, had Diaz decided to finish him off instead of pausing to taunt him a bit. But as the streaking welterweight explained in a recent episode of the Blockparty podcast, boredom may have also played a role in that slight tide change.
“24 minutes of schooling him, it was so easy I got bored while I was fighting him,” (quotes via MMA Mania). “Otherwise, let’s say if it was the first or second round, it never would have landed.
“The reason why it didn’t land is because I was alert and sharp. I thought ‘okay, this fight’s kinda easy, it’s last-minute,’ but then he caught that shot. It’s something I’m working on now with my coaches, to stay sharp all the way through.”
Edwards will finally get his due title shot when he faces reigning champion Kamaru Usman at UFC 278 on August 20th.