History will be made at UFC 262 as Leon Edwards will meet Nate Diaz in the first-ever five round, non-title co-main event in the companies history.

It is the first time that two fighters will meet in a co-main event in a five round bout with no title on the line, proving even more the pulling power that Diaz has earned himself in the UFC over the years.

It will be a welterweight bout between arguably the biggest star in the division against one of the most underrated in Edwards.

Leon Edwards will be making a quick turnaround to return to the octagon, following his controversial no contest against Belal Muhammad back in March.

Edwards was on an eight-fight win streak and took the fight on short-notice following Khamzat Chimaev’s second withdrawal, forcing the fight to fall apart for a third time. After nearly two years out of the octagon, ‘Rocky’ opted to take whatever fight he could get but the fight was sadly ended early in the second round after an accidental eye poke meant Muhammad was unable to continue.

Since then the British fighter had called for a title shot, but with Kamaru Usman and Jorge Masvidal scheduled to fight on April 24th at UFC 261, Edwards did not want to wait. He was targeting a bout with Colby Covington, but a previous war of words with Diaz along with the eyes the fight will bring has caught his attention instead.

This will be first time Diaz has fought since his massive fight with Jorge Masvidal at UFC 244 in November 2019 and only the fourth time since his infamous rematch with Conor McGregor back in 2016 at UFC 202.

Check me out may 15th I’ll be headlining #ufc262 in Houston Texas I’ll also have the new UFC lightweight title fight on the card I need people to know these guys are they’ve been working very hard and I can’t wait to see who gets my old 👑 I’ll see uguys there 👊🏼

— Nathan Diaz (@NateDiaz209) March 31, 2021

Diaz spent three years out of the octagon after that fight, citing a need for money or title fights and only wanting to fight ‘real fighters’. He returned to defeat Anthony Pettis in impressive fashion before losing to Masvidal.

Rankings wise it’s a fight that is all in Diaz’s favour, with the Stockton-raised fan favourite not even in the top 15. However his huge popularity will make this arguably the biggest fight of Edwards’ career with more eyes on him now than ever before.

Diaz’s popularity is such that on a card that will be headlined by Charles Oliveira fighting Michael Chandler to crown the vacant lightweight champion as well as Tony Ferguson fighting Beneil Dariush, this will be a five round bout and has been inserted as the co-main event.

In the betting for the fight, Edwards has opened up as the favourite but with Diaz’s experience, durability and skills it should make for a highly entertaining bout for fans to enjoy on what will be a stellar card on May 15th.