Anthony Smith praises Nate Diaz ahead of UFC 263: “It doesn’t matter what Nate is doing. If he’s cooking, I’m tuning in and I’m gonna watch”

Anthony Smith praised UFC star Nate Diaz, saying “It doesn’t matter what Nate is doing. If he’s cooking, I’m tuning in and I’m gonna watch.”

Diaz returns to the Octagon next Saturday night at UFC 263 when he takes on Leon Edwards in the first five-round, non-title fight in UFC history. Diaz is making his comeback after having been away from the cage since November 2019, while Edwards fights again for the first time since a No Contest with Belal Muhammad earlier this year. The Diaz vs. Edwards fight is an incredible matchup on paper between two of the best welterweights in the world and the winner of the fight has a good shot of landing a title shot at 170lbs.

Ahead of UFC 263, Smith talked about the card on the UFC Vegas 28 show, and when the Diaz vs. Edwards fight was brought up, Smith couldn’t help but gush over Diaz, suggesting that he would pay money to watch Diaz cook because he is that exciting of an MMA fighter.

Nate Diaz is must-see TV 📺 #UFC263 pic.twitter.com/Ros98vdGth

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) June 6, 2021

Nate Diaz is must-see TV #UFC263

“It doesn’t matter what Nate is doing. If he’s cooking, I’m tuning in and I’m gonna watch it. And I’ll pay pay-per-view money to do it,” Anthony Smith said.

Although Diaz is coming off of a TKO loss to Jorge Masvidal in his last outing, he remains one of the most popular fighters on the UFC roster, which allowed him to land this fight with a big-name opponent in the form of Edwards. With UFC welterweight champion coming off of a win over Jorge Masvidal, the winner of Diaz vs. Edwards figures to play into the title conversation at 170lbs. With an impressive win here, either Diaz or Edwards could be fighting for gold later this year, so like Smith suggested, this is definitely a must-watch.

How excited are you for Nate Diaz to throw down with Leon Edwards at UFC 263?