Nick Diaz and Robbie Lawler faced off for the final time ahead of their UFC 266 clash on Saturday as both fighters made the weight for their Las Vegas fight.
Diaz is taking part in his first fight in six years and weighed-in at 185.5 pounds for the five-round middleweight bout on Friday morning, with his opponent coming in at 184 lbs.
Both fighters were relaxed in a time final face-off ahead of their rematch, though it has been 17 years since the pair first met back at UFC 47 in April 2004. Diaz managed to knock out Lawler in the second round of the welterweight clash, which also took place in Las Vegas.
Nick Diaz (left) and Robbie Lawler (right) faced off for the final time before Saturday’s fight
Diaz weighed in at in at 185.5 pounds for Saturday’s middleweight bout, with Lawler at 184
This fight was meant to be a welterweight clash as well, though both competitors agreed to take part in the division above, due to Diaz’s problems in making weight.
Diaz’s last appearance in the octagon came in 2015 when his clash with Anderson Silva was deemed a non-contest after both fighters were found to have taken illegal substances in the lead-up to the fight.
The clash was initially awarded as an unanimous decision victory for Silva, though the Brazilian tested positive for steroids drostanolone and androsterone, while Diaz had traced of marijuana in his system.
Even though American fighter Diaz is making his long-awaited return to MMA, the 38-year-old is feeling conflicted about his comeback and admits he does not enjoy fighting.
It is Diaz’s (left) first UFC fight since his no-contest bout with Anderson Silva (right) in 2015
‘I never enjoyed fighting,’ he told ESPN. ‘It’s just something that I do. It’s just what I do. I tried to get away from it, but really it’s kind of inevitable. It is. All the people around me and all the money and sponsors, they won’t let me get away from fighting. There’s things I could do, but it’s not going to work out. I might as well just go and take my punches.
‘I don’t want to look back and say, ‘Why did I not just do it?’ I feel great to fight, I don’t feel great about everything.
‘But if I don’t do this, I don’t know how I’m going to feel about myself two years down the road if I’m sitting here going, ‘Why didn’t I just go and do these fights I would have won?’.
When asked what he likes about the sport, Diaz added: ‘Nothing – nothing at all. ‘This is not enjoyable. This whole thing is for everybody else.
Diaz (left) admits he does not like fighting anymore and loves nothing about UFC
‘I’m glad that the fans are happy, and that they love it and that’s just what gets them going. It got me going when I was a kid.
‘Five months in, I was like, “In five months I’m going to be good,” and in five months I was good. Then, “After I make 5-0, I’m going to be so good,” and I didn’t even make it to 5-0, and then I had to go back for more. After that, it was just no way out.
‘I see the kids, I try to tell them, are you sure you want to do this, kid? I like to teach and train and be a part of the sport. I’ve got a few fights left, and if I can survive that and keep the ball rolling a little bit, it’s probably a better option than not fighting.’
In response to those claims by Diaz , UFC president Dana White has compared the American to Mike Tyson in terms of his feelings towards the sport – with the supremo claiming the 38-year-old will have a different mindset when he approaches the octagon.
UFC president Dana White (middle) disagrees that Diaz (left) hates the sport ahead of his fight
When you talk to him, you know, he’s very Tyson-esque,’ White told ESPN. ‘He reminds me of Tyson.
‘When Tyson’s not in the right mood, he’ll tell you all the things that he hates about fighting. When he’s in the right mood, he’ll tell you all the things that he loves about fighting.
‘He has this love-hate relationship with the fight game like Mike does. They’re very similar in the way that they speak if you catch him in the right mood.’
Diaz and Lawler, whose last fight came in August 2020, will be part of the undercard to Alexander Volkanovski and Brian Ortega, who came in at 144.5 and 144 pounds respectively.