It’s official:Â Nick Diaz is fighting again.
The UFC has officially announced that Diaz will be taking on Robbie Lawler at UFC 266 on September 25 this year.
The fight will be five rounds, making it just the second fight in UFC history to be a five-round, non-main-event, non-title fight. The first was the one between Diaz’s brother Nate and Leon Edwards at UFC 263.
This will be the second time that Diaz and Lawler have faced off, with their first fight against each other taking place seventeen years ago at UFC 47. Diaz won the contest via second-round knockout.
Fight fans have been anticipating Diaz’s return for over six years now. He last fought in January 2015 against Anderson Silva, though their fight was later ruled a no-contest after Silva tested positive for drostanolone and androsterone and Diaz tested positive for marijuana.
Lawler lost his fourth consecutive fight in August 2020, dropping a unanimous decision to Neil Magny. The former UFC champion claimed the welterweight title at the end of 2014 and went on to defend it twice before losing it to Tyron Woodley in 2016.
Also on the card is a main event fight between Brian Ortega and Alexander Volkanovski, which will be for the men’s featherweight title, and a women’s flyweight title fight between Valentina Shevchenko and Lauren Murphy.
UFC 266 will take place on Saturday, September 25.
