Nick Diaz and Robbie Lawler face off in a middleweight bout in a main card showdown at UFC 266 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
The fight that people might be looking forward to most is this fight, because it’s Nick Diaz’s return to the UFC. Nate Diaz is still one of the most popular fighters in the UFC even though he was suspended for five years because of failed drug tests. There has been a lot of chatter heading into this fight about if Diaz even wants to fight, but he will at least be fighting this one. He overall has a 26-9 record overall but he has lost three fights in a row. Diaz’s last fight was against Anderson Silva, in January of 2015 and that decision was overturned. Diaz is averaging 5.43 significant strikes per minute while absorbing 3.56 significant strikes per minute. Diaz is a skilled fighter on the ground averaging 1.32 takedowns every 15 minutes.
On the other side of this matchup is Robbie Lawler who comes into this game with a 28-15 record overall and he has lost four games in a row. In Lawler’s last fight against Neil Magny, he was dominated and lost by unanimous decision. He was outstruck 62-26 and was also taken down four times. Lawler is averaging 3.50 significant strikes per minute while absorbing 4.16 significant strikes per minute. One big issue the last few fights for Lawler is that he has taken a ton of damage, and that isn’t something he can do.
Diaz is coming off a long layoff, but I still have more trust in him. Diaz is a pressure fighter, and that is something that Lawler has struggled with his last few fights. Look for Diaz to inflict a ton of damage and come away with a victory. Overall there is more value on the board though, and I wouldn’t bet this one big.