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Diaz after Edwards loss: 'I'm the better fighter'

Christian Petersen / Getty Images Sport / Getty

Nate Diaz dropped a unanimous decision to Leon Edwards in a welterweight bout at UFC 263, but he walked away from the loss feeling like he is the superior fighter.

"At the end of the day, I feel like he won or whatever, but I feel like I'm the better fighter still regardless," Diaz said at the postfight press conference.

Diaz clearly lost the first 20 minutes of the fight, but he came on strong in the fifth round, rocking and nearly finishing Edwards in what would've been a massive comeback.

"The peak of the fight is what matters anyway, what happens in the end," Diaz said, adding: "In a real fight, in a real war, that fight's a wrap. He was sleepwalking."

The former lightweight title challenger ended a 19-month layoff against Edwards, as he hadn't stepped into the Octagon since a loss to Jorge Masvidal in November 2019.

Diaz is hoping to stay active moving forward, but he'll need a little time to recover from the cuts he suffered in Saturday's contest.

"Three or four months, I'm ready to hop back in there," Diaz said. "Just (need to) heal up. If I was unscathed, I would be back next week."

The fan favorite was initially scheduled to face Edwards at UFC 262 last month, but the fight was pushed back to UFC 263 because Diaz was dealing with a minor injury. He revealed after the fight that he suffered a cut in training, adding that he did not train as hard once the fight was postponed.

"I kind of lost all motivation to train and work out hard and all that," Diaz said. "So I kind of just lingered around for a month, getting ready for a war like that."

Diaz is now 1-3 in his past four outings. The 36-year-old was last victorious against Anthony Pettis in August 2019.

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