Nick Diaz loses by TKO to Robbie Lawler
Diaz, a pioneer in mixed martial arts and one of its most popular fighters, had not fought in more than six years, mainly due to a suspension he received after testing positive for trace amounts of marijuana in 2015.
During fight week, Diaz didn’t look excited about his return to the octagon, speaking frankly about his love/hate relationship with mixed martial arts. But he thrilled the fans at T-Mobile Arena from his walk to the cage for a rematch with Lawler from their 2004 fight, a Diaz KO victory.
Although he had his moments on the feet with his boxing, Diaz could no longer when Lawler connected with a right hook that forced him to a knee, from where he didn’t get up, forcing the referee to stop the fight 44 seconds into the third round.
“That’s what I expected,” Lawler said in his post-fight interview. “I expected him to pick up the pace and try to break me. And I didn’t let him.”
Originally slated for welterweight, this fight was held at middleweight, a change that took place during fight week at Diaz’s request, and was penned for five rounds, which is unusual for non-title and non-main event bouts.
“At least I put on a show,” Diaz said. “I knew that’s what I was in for. There was a lot of stress going into this fight.”
After the fight, Diaz had a towel to his nose, which was bleeding.
“I knew I was leaking [blood],” Diaz said. “I didn’t want to leave too much of a mess.”
The first two rounds were very competitive. Diaz connected with a lot of combinations in the first round. Lawler responded with the harder punches in the second and third rounds. Diaz actually connected with more significant strikes, 150-131, according to UFC Stats. Diaz is only the 12th fighter in UFC history to land 150 significant strikes in a loss, and every other fight was longer than this one against Lawler.
“I’ve always had respect for Diaz,” Lawler said. “He brings it every damn time he gets in the ring … He came to the fight and put on an unbelievable show.”
Lawler (29-15, 1 NC) is a former UFC welterweight champion. He won the 170-pound title by defeating Johny Hendricks in 2014 and defended it twice in instant classics against Rory MacDonald and Condit. The 39-year-old fighter stopped a four-fight losing streak, all against very high-level competition.
Diaz (26-10, 2 NC) is the older brother of UFC star Nate Diaz. He is a former Strikeforce welterweight champion and was involved in big fights in UFC against BJ Penn, Carlos Condit, Georges St-Pierre and Anderson Silva from 2011 to 2015.
