UFC 266 marked the return of Stockton’s own, Nick Diaz, who entered the octagon after over five years away from action. Diaz returned to the fighting game to go up against ‘Ruthless’ Robbie Lawler in a rematch of their first fight, which took place at UFC 47 in 2004. Considering this was his first fight since the Anderson Silva bout in January 2015, Diaz put up a fantastic performance at UFC 266.

His performance impressed UFC President Dana White. In a press conference after the Dana White’s Contender Series, White said, “I thought Nick Diaz looked incredible, considering he hasn’t fought in 5 years. I was expecting, you know, I don’t know what I was expecting. You never know what to get with the brothers but let me tell you, with a 5-year layoff, I thought he looked incredible.”

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Nick Diaz vs. Robbie Lawler 2

Many dubbed Nick Diaz vs. Robbie Lawler 2 as the people’s main event. Nick, one of the most popular fighters in MMA history, was fighting for the first time since 2015. On the other end was the former UFC welterweight champion, Robbie Lawler, who hadn’t fought in over a year. Despite both men coming in of lengthy hiatuses, the fight didn’t disappoint.

Right from the very first round, both men went after each other. They exchanged power shots throughout the contest, and Lawler eventually prevailed in the third round with a TKO win.

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Even though Nick lost, he did some significant damage to Lawler. Dana, at the press conference, said, “That 1st round, I don’t know if you guys saw Robbie after the fight, but Robbie had frea***g knots and lumps all over him. Those two went to war. The fight itself exceeded my expectations because Nick hadn’t fought in 5 years, and I thought Robbie is just gonna go out there and buzz-saw through him. And that was not the case.”

Dana White reveals if Nick is going to compete again

Just a week before the event, Nick asked UFC to change the weight class of his bout against Robbie. Initially supposed to be a welterweight bout, UFC changed the weight class to middleweight upon Nick’s request. Diaz also no-showed the media in the lead-up to the fight.

Regarding Diaz’s pre-fight requests, antics, and his future in the UFC, White said, “Those are the kind of things I expect from the Diaz brothers. But I don’t know; I honestly don’t know the answer to that question. He looked damn good. That kid’s got a massive heart. He’s obviously a super talented fighter, and yeah, I was impressed.”

What do you think Nick Diaz and the UFC will do? Is Stockton’s own going to return to the octagon again? Tell us in the comments!

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