UFC legend Michael Bisping says reaction to Leon Edwards’ win over Nate Diaz ‘almost not fair’

At UFC 263, Leon Edwards earned the biggest win of his career after taking out the legendary Nate Diaz.

But, is the victory being celebrated like the big win it really is? Most of the talk after the event has been about Diaz.

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The fan favourite was beaten badly for the vast majority of the fight, but inside the final minute he landed a Stockton slap and then a straight left to put Edwards on skates.

The Brit was supremely lucky to finish the round. He was basically knocked out on his feet it seemed, but he managed to hold on for the remaining 45 seconds.

Like Diaz said after the fight, had that fight been on the street or if there was another round, Edwards was in a world of trouble.

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But, it wasn’t in the street. It was inside the octagon and Edwards scored an impressive 49-46 clean sweep over a man who once defeated Conor McGregor.

UFC Hall of Famer feels sorry for Edwards after putting on such a clinic.

“Leon Edwards, what are you doing?!” Bisping said on his . “What are you doing? He dominated that fight - don’t get me wrong, Diaz is so tough and he made it so entertaining the whole time, every time he was messing around, turning his back, and all the antics and talking to him. 

“Diaz is so tough and he makes every fight exciting. That’s why he’s got so many fans but Edwards was dominating that fight and it was almost like he couldn’t do anything wrong. 

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“When they clinched, he took him down with authority, beat him up on the ground, opened him up with those crazy elbows, kicked the sh*t out of his leg.... But then he f*cks up in the fifth round and almost gets knocked unconscious.

“This is not the worst for Leon Edwards, because obviously the worst scenario would be had he got knocked out or lost the fight, but Leon needed to go out there and beat Nate Diaz, take all of his fans, and then become a household name in mixed martial arts. 

“Unfortunately, now the narrative isn’t all about the four-and-a-half rounds of extreme dominance that Leon Edwards put on him.... but the narrative now is that had there been one more round, Nate would have knocked him out. 

“Had this been on the street, Leon would have been done for. Now the narrative is ‘I can’t wait to see Nate Diaz.’ Yes, Leon went out there and beat him but they’re all talking about Nate Diaz.”

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Edwards hasn’t had a lot of luck lately. He was dominaiting Belal Muhammad before an accidental eye poke forced a no contest and his fights with Khamzat Chimaev fell through three times.

Despite being unbeaten in 10 fights with nine wins, Edwards can’t seem to get a title shot either with Colby Covington looking like he’s next.

“It’s so Leon Edwards,” Bisping said. “I feel for the guy. He’s just kind of - it’s not bad luck. You can’t call going out there and beating Nate Diaz by a dominant decision, 49-46, that’s not bad luck. 

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“That’s a great night at the office. It is! It’s so Leon Edwards, it’s unfair! The guy is on a 10-fight unbeaten streak, he’s got all the momentum, he’s beaten great fighters and he just beat Nate Diaz but at the end, people are talking about Nate Diaz and how tough he is.

“He needs a finish. He’s got to get a finish. And I can’t say that, I had plenty of decisions. I’m not saying that from a negative standpoint, but it would have shut up a lot of people. It would be a very different discussion right now had he finished Nate Diaz.

“I just feel for him because it’s almost not fair, which you don’t say that in fight sport. Everyone is talking about Diaz and how tough he is and the rest of it and they’re not talking about Leon who kicked the sh*t out of him for four and a half rounds!”