CAPE TOWN – The original mixed martial arts bad boy returns to action tomorrow at UFC263.

Nate Diaz can do whatever he wants but still remains a big favorite among millions of fans around the world.

Influence and fame are fleeting these days, and you can tell how short-lived loyalty and favoritism is in the sport of MMA. Someday you may be successful, but just take a loss and you will see how your stock goes down. It’s a constant urge to consume satisfaction that drives so many fans from athlete to athlete.

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But rare are those who manage to penetrate deep into people’s hearts, and Nate Diaz is one of them.

The Stockton, Calif. Based star (21-12) who is known for serving world icon Conor McGregor (22-5) in his first UFC loss built up so much traction that even when he loses, his fans remain loyal to him until the dark of night.

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And this weekend, after losing to Jorge Masvidal (35-15) in a BMF title challenge at UFC244, he returns to the octagon to face Leon Edwards (18-3, 1 No Contest) who beats from Birmingham, England, in a welterweight fight that could secure the winner with a title shot from Nigerian Kamaru Usman (19-1).

Leon has grown in leaps and bounds and it might not come as a surprise if he emerges victorious at the end of the night, no matter how popular Nate is. The former might not be the biggest name on paper, but inside the Octagon he earned Nate’s respect, which is why the superstar gave Leon the chance to fight. , just like he did to Jorge.

“Leon is the best guy. He beats everyone, so why wouldn’t I want to fight the best guy, ”Nate said in an interview with Mike Bohn of MMAJunkie.

“It’s awesome when you can keep going and win that many times in a row. So the plan here is to beat Leon and see who’s next for me,” Nate added casually during his interview with MMAJunkie.

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Nate will have to be careful though, with his high punch rate and continued pressure on the forefoot he tends to take a lot of damage. Most people will know that Nate has a very powerful cardio system and gets stronger over time, but it tends to work against him at times like against Jorge when Nate took a lot of damage before the referee did. stops the fight much to his disappointment which was evident in his body language. Yes it’s true he was getting stronger and Jorge looked tired, but health came first and the cuts on Nate’s face were pretty obvious and the medical board just couldn’t let him slip.

Nate will therefore have to be very careful with Leon who has an appetite to launch a barrage of attacks.

Leon comes off a 9-game winning streak with his last fight against Bilal Muhammad ending in a No Contest after an accidental glance. However, before that, Leon gave a clinical demonstration and clearly dominated this fight.

The fight between Nate and Leon will be marked by the fight for the middleweight title between the champion of Nigerian origin Israel Adesanya (20-1) and the Italian Marvin Vettori (17-4-1).

The main co-event will see flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo (20-1-1, fighter from Condor Belem, Para, Brazil) leading the Championship rematch with Brandon Moreno (18-5-2, fighter from Tijuana, Mexico ).

UFC 263, which takes place in Arizona, will air live on SuperSport (SS Action, SS Grandstand, SS Maximo, SS Variety 3) from 4 a.m. (CAT) Sunday morning.

The rest of the map.

• In an aspiring welterweight battle, Demian Maia (28-10, ranked 9th, fighter in Sao Paulo, Brazil) faces 12th Belal Muhammad (18-3, 1 NC, fighter in Chicago, Illinois)

• The ranked light heavyweights collide as No.14 Paul Craig (14-4-1, fighter in Coatbridge, Scotland) and No.15 Jamahal Hill (8-0, fighter in Kentwood, Mich.) Vie for enter the top 10

• Drew Dober (23-10, 1 NC, fighter in Denver, Colorado) and Brad Riddell (9-1, fighter in Auckland, New Zealand) face off in an action packed fight.

• In a light heavyweight bout, Eryk Anders (13-5, 1 NC, fighter in Birmingham, Alabama) meets Darren Stewart (12-6, fighter in London, England)

• Lauren Murphy (14-4, fighter in Houston, Texas), third female flyweight, seeks her first UFC title by knocking out number 6 Joanne Calderwood (15-5, fighter in Glasgow, Scotland)

• An intriguing featherweight fight sees Movsar Evloev (14-0, ranked 14th undefeated, fighter from Coconut Creek, Florida via Ingushetia, Russia) take on 15th Hakeem Dawodu (12-1-1, fighter from Calgary, Alberta, Canada) )

• Pannie Kianzad (15-5, fighter in Helsingborg, Skane County, Sweden), ranked 11th in women’s bantamweight, wins the biggest victory of her career over former title challenger Alexis Davis (20-10, fighter in Port Colborne, Ontario, Canada)

• Frank Camacho (22-9, fighter in Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands) and Matt Frevola (8-2-1, fighter in Long Island, NY) face off in a light fight that is almost guaranteed to entertain.

• Featherweight prospect Chase Hooper (10-1-1, fighter in Enumclaw, Wash.) Plans to show off his evolving skills when he takes on veteran Steven Peterson (18-9, fighter in Dallas, TX)

• Fares Ziam (11-3, fighter from Givors, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France) and Luigi Vendramini (9-1, fighter from Brasilia, Brazil) face off in an exciting lightweight bout

• Heavyweights Carlos Felipe (10-1, fighter outside of Bahia, Brazil) and Jake Collier (12-5, fighter outside Cuba, Missouri) are looking to steal the show and climb the ranks.