A rematch 17 years in the making, Nick Diaz will fight Robbie Lawler in a five-round fight at UFC 266.
After over half a decade away from the cage, former UFC title challenger Nick Diaz will return to face Robbie Lawler in a rematch at UFC 266.
Reports circulated last week that Diaz, 37, was linked to a co-main event fight with Lawler, 39, at UFC 266 on September 25th. Kevin Iole of Yahoo Sports has now revealed the fight is a done deal. It will be just the second time a non-title, non-main event fight has been scheduled for five-rounds after Nate Diaz vs. Leon Edwards first broke that feat at UFC 263.
The two fan favorites first met at UFC 47 in 2004. Both Diaz and Lawler were in their early twenties at the time, and it would be the Stockton native Diaz who would stop Lawler in what was just his second UFC appearance at the time.
Diaz (26-9, 2NC) has not fought since losing a decision to Anderson Silva, that would later be overturned to a no contest, at UFC 183 in January 2015. He was controversially suspended five years by the Nevada Athletic Commission for a third failed drug test for marijuana before it was reduced to 18 months, but he still remained inactive well after his suspension was up. Meanwhile, the former UFC welterweight champion Lawler (28-15, 1NC) is on a four-fight losing streak with his last win coming against Donald Cerrone in July 2017. His losses came against Rafael dos Anjos, Ben Askren, Colby Covington, and Neil Magny.
UFC 266 is currently without a location or a venue, but it is expected to be headlined by a featherweight title fight between TUF 29 coaches Alexander Volkanovski and Brian Ortega.