Nick Diaz shook up the UFC when he proved to the world he had legit striking skills at UFC 47. Assumed to be a grappling specialist he stood and traded with a KO specialist in “Ruthless” and put him away early in the 2nd. Since then fans have wanted and promoters have dreamed of a rematch. The UFC has made it happen and on September 25th at UFC 266 we find out just how much each has grown.
Diaz, now 38 years old, was the Strikeforce welterweight champion with three defenses including a TKO win over Paul Daley. He returned to the UFC defeating BJ Penn, losing an interim welterweight title bout to Carlos Condit and a welterweight championship fight with Georges St Pierre. His last UFC fight at UFC 183 against Anderson Silva was ruled a no contest when both tested positive for banned substances. That was in January of 2015 meaning he hasn’t been actively fighting for six years when he steps in to The Octagon in September.
Lawler is 39 years old and on a four fight skid. Before that he won the UFC welterweight championship and had two amazing fights with Carlos Condit and Rory MacDonald both of which won fight of the night honors. His last fight was in August of last year so his ring rust will only be a year old when he faces Diaz.
The UFC just released a promo for the bout that screams “shut up and take my money”. Check it out.