How do you see a fight between Edson Barboza and Nate Diaz?

dontlaugh said:
Ranking wise this fight would make sense. The thing is, Barboza could claim a title shot after beating him, like everyone that beats Diaz at LW does, and the UFC doesn't want another LW that could trouble Conor in the title picture.

I think it would be a very disputed fight. I get that most think Barboza would just leg kick Nate do death, which i agree, but leg kicking also leaves fighters exposed and Barboza's chin is very...unreliable...i could see Nate surprisingly hurting him and maybe even getting a finish, while limping. Either that or Barboza SD/UD.
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the ufc would love to have barboza earn a legit title shot. it is much more preferable than guys that can grapple like ferguson or khabib

i think edson is probably the best fight for conor among all possible contenders. nate has a granite chin and cardio for days. its a tough fight, as we have seen. if cowboy comes down he has shown much improved takedowns and grappling. then ferguson and khabib are better than alvarez. edson likes to strike and has a glass chin. just one poorly timed kick would get his lights shut off
 
Barboza fights better on the back foot than anyone in the division, and Nate isn't exactly Tony Ferguson when it comes to pressure. It doesn't come naturally to him. Over three rounds, I think Barboza would take a clear 29-28, over five, it's anyone's guess when you take into account Barboza's style and how cardio-intensive it is.
 
As tough as Nate is even against leg kicks I can see a stoppage due to leg kicks.
 
Nate would get leg kicked to death for 3 rounds and lose a 30-27 decision
 
lukeuidswords said:
Barboza fights better on the back foot than anyone in the division, and Nate isn't exactly Tony Ferguson when it comes to pressure. It doesn't come naturally to him. Over three rounds, I think Barboza would take a clear 29-28, over five, it's anyone's guess when you take into account Barboza's style and how cardio-intensive it is.
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Yeah I agree with that.

I am interested in seeing Barboza's cardio over five rounds. He's one of the better third round fighters of the division.
 
FranOlivetto said:
What about Nate's ground game? He's slick as fuck in there
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True he is very good on the ground, but would he be able to take Barboza down? he has great TDD and Nate is not too good with his takedowns in general.
 
Nate gets his legs kicked into oblivion.

I want Barboza vs Alvarez next.
 
Too good from the distance, killer kicks and Nate doesnt have the stronger legs....
 
FranOlivetto said:
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Nate's one of my favorite fighters but this is a horrid match up for him. He'd win like 10 percent of the time maybe.
 
Obviously sounds like a bad match up for Nate but I'd love to see it. I think he could get it done.
 
Horrible matchup for Nate but anytime Barboza is fighting I think he could lose any second. He dominated Melendez for the most part but still got rocked twice. If Cowboy could drop Barboza with a jab so could Nate.

Donald+Cerrone+Drops+and+Rear+Naked+Chokes+Edson+Barboza+-+UFC+on+Fox+11.gif
 
legkicktko said:
Against some fighters that could be an issue, but Nate is so sideways he has no counter for the leg kick. If you're a high level leg kicker, you can literally kick that shit over and over and over and over and he has no counter or answer for it. He never countered RDA's kick with a decent cross. Conor's leg kick is far slower and weaker than Edson's but he got an insane amount of free, unanswered kicks because every leg kick knocks Nate off balance due to his stance.

If you look at all of Nate's fights, he tags people who are boxing centered or pretend to be boxing centered (Donald), but he is not impressive when someone has a kick heavy gameplan. Its almost like he's constantly surprised he's being kicked.
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Good observation. Nate does well against people that fight too much in the middle and doesn't have good lateral movement. Maybe the reason he bullies Conor ? Doesn't move his head out of the centerline after striking and can't have the reach advantage against Nate so he's never too far to be countered with his 1-2's.

But hypotetically speaking, i was scared of Nate somehow reaching Edson's chin once while he's confident and giving him trouble xD. That said his defense is much improved, without a good war nobody is hurting Edson that easily anymore. Barboza is slick and maturing, i sincerely think he has business in the title picture.
 
Barboza showing the definition of getting leg kicked into oblivion.
 
I see nate getting chewed up and hardly landing a punch. Id bet big on this one
 
theheater said:
the ufc would love to have barboza earn a legit title shot. it is much more preferable than guys that can grapple like ferguson or khabib

i think edson is probably the best fight for conor among all possible contenders. nate has a granite chin and cardio for days. its a tough fight, as we have seen. if cowboy comes down he has shown much improved takedowns and grappling. then ferguson and khabib are better than alvarez. edson likes to strike and has a glass chin. just one poorly timed kick would get his lights shut off
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Let's not underestimate top fighters, Barboza is a beast, SO much talent. Conor wouldn't have the reach advantage against Barboza, his lead leg is always very advanced, for a technical striker with great leg kicks like Barboza, that would be perfect. The few times Alvarez leg kicked him, it worked, so i wouldn't say Barboza wouldn't probably find a hell lot of good leg kicks before Conor finding one good counter himself. Also, Barboza NEVER rushes, he's very collected and precise aswell. Despite the chin argument, Edson would have a pretty good chance of beating (outstriking) Conor.

Not to mention he can out of nowhere pull one of his tricks and end the fight in great fashion.The chances are there, but everyone fighting Conor feels too pressured to keep a good gameplan for the whole fight. So who knows ? I think he'll fight Diaz again and god knows what happens next.

Oh yeah, Barboza has a tendency of getting better as rounds go, so don't count him out on the "gas" department. Despite not having notorious endurance he is pretty good at managing himself and lasting long.
 
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