Former UFC welterweight champion Nick Diaz is set to make his return to the octagon against Robbie Lawler at UFC 266.
The fight takes place Sept. 25 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and is headlined by a featherweight title fight between champ Alexander Volkanovski and and two-time challenger Brian Ortega.
Diaz and Lawler first fight was in 2004 at UFC 47. Diaz won with a memorable knockout, putting away Lawler in the second round.
The fight was only Diaz’s second UFC fight, although he had already made a name for himself while competing at the WEC.
Diaz was signed to the UFC, where he would spend the next 3 years of his life. Interestingly, in his first UFC fight, Diaz faced Jackson in the highly anticipated trilogy fight and won via a 3rd round submission.
“I stand up for what I believe in where I have come from. I am not here to back down. I got to keep it real, fight a hard fight.” Diaz said.
Diaz hasn’t fought since January 2015 and a unanimous decision loss to Anderson Silva. Meanwhile, Lawler remains on four consecutive defeats against Rafael Dos Anjos, Ben Askren, Colby Covington and Neil Magny.
“I am not worried about that last fight. I am coming out to show who I am today not who I was.” Lawler said.
Diaz is one of the most followed fighters in MMA. The veteran fighter has had an incredible MMA career and currently has a (26-9) all-time high.
Considered a true legend of the sport by MMA fans, Nate Diaz’s big brother was never a UFC champion, despite a title fight against former middleweight champion Georges St-Pierre.
