Dana White announced on Wednesday that a rematch between Nick Diaz and Robbie Lawler is in the works. It would be Nick’s first time professionally fighting since his bout with Anderson Silva in January of 2015.
Fans of mixed martial arts love the Diaz brothers. Nate Diaz returned from a long hiatus last month, going five rounds with Leon Edwards. It would be awesome to see both make walks to the octagon in the same calendar year.
Rumors of a Nick Diaz return have swirled for quite some time, but now it seems serious. He went straight to the boss asking for a fight and Dana seems happy to oblige with a rather fair choice of opponent. A bout with Robbie Lawler would be Diaz’ second, after beating him by second round knockout in April of 2004.
Lawler is currently on a four-fight losing streak. Nick Diaz was the first fighter to knock him out clean with a right hand sending him face first into the canvas. Lawler was scheduled to fight Mike Perry last November but withdrew due to injury.
The primary reason for Nick’s absence was due to a ban by the Nevada State Athletic Commission. It is fitting that the news of his return comes on the same day that the NSAC announced they will no longer punish fighters testing positive for marijuana. He is owed an apology, but really it is thanks to Nick Diaz that this antiquated rule got changed.
The matchup likely takes place in the co-main event slot of UFC 266. They can really beef up the pay-per-view by adding this bout and I imagine that Dana wants to keep Nick’s long anticipated return behind a paywall. That card is headlined by Jan Blachowicz and Glover Teixeira.
Ringworm 