Seventeen years after Nick Diaz knocked out Robbie Lawler, the pair are finally going to face off in a rematch, and the entire MMA world is happy to see it happen.
On Wednesday, Dana White broke the news in an interview with TSN that Diaz will be making his long-awaited return against former welterweight champion Lawler, who has been out of action since last August. A subsequent report by MMA Junkie revealed that the bout is lined up for UFC 266, although the fight has not been finalized.
Diaz (26-9) has been out of action since his unanimous decision loss to Anderson Silva in 2015. Following the Silva fight, the Nevada State Athletic Commission suspended Diaz for five years for a failed drug test that turned up marijuana metabolites. A year later, the five-year ban was lifted, and Diaz accepted an 18-month suspension. Diaz has been teasing a return for many years, but nothing came of it. The Stockton native has not won a fight since 2011.
Lawler (28-15-1) is on the worst losing streak of his career as he has lost four straight fights. Since losing the welterweight title to Tyron Woodley, “Ruthless” is 1-5. Lawler is coming off a dominant loss to Neil Magny, which was his only fight in 2020.
UFC 266 will take place in Las Vegas at the T-Mobile Arena. The Pay-per-View event is expected to take place on September 4, 2021.
The card so far looks like this:
- Alexander Volkanovski Brian Ortega – for the UFC featherweight title
- Nick Diaz vs. Robbie Lawler
- Tatiana Suarez vs. Roxanne Modafferi
- Curtis Blaydes vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik
- Merab Dvalishvili vs. Marlon Moraes
- Jessica Andrade vs. Cynthia Calvillo
- Manon Fiorot vs. Mayra Bueno Silva
- Uros Medic vs. Jalin Turner
- Sarah Alpar vs. Erin Blanchfield
