Report: Nick Diaz vs Robbie Lawler 2 for UFC 266 co-main event

Seventeen years after Nick Diaz stunned Robbie Lawler at UFC 47, the scrappers are expected to run it back in the co-headliner slot for UFC 266.

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) President, Dana White, told TSN’s Aaron Bronsteter on Wednesday that a rematch between Diaz vs. Lawler “is in the works” for September. MMA Junkie subsequently reported that one side has verbally agreed to the match up as the co-main event of UFC 266, which takes place inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Sept. 25, 2021, via ESPN+ pay-per-view (PPV).

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CHAMPIONSHIP DOUBLE-DIP! Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) returns to “The Fight Mecca,” Madison Square Garden in New York, N.Y., on Sat., Nov. 12, 2022, featuring two highly-anticipated championship showdowns. In UFC 281’s pay-per-view (PPV) main event, Middleweight champion, Israel Adesanya, will look to settle the score with former kickboxing foe and No. 5-seeded contender, Alex Pereira. In the ESPN+-streamed PPV co-main event, women’s Strawweight champion, Carla Esparza, intends to defend her newly-won title for the first time against former champion and No. 2-ranked contender, Zhang Weili.

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Diaz and Lawler previously met at UFC 47 on April 2, 2004, with the former scoring an all-time classic second round knockout.

Diaz (26-9-0-2) has not competed professionally since a unanimous decision loss to Anderson Silva at UFC 183 in Jan. 2015. The fight was later overturned to a “No Contest” after Silva tested positive for drostanolone and androsterone. Diaz also tested positive for marijuana. Silva is winless dating back to an Oct. 2011 unanimous decision victory over the legendary B.J. Penn. He holds notable wins over Paul Daley, K.J. Noons, Frank Shamrock, Gleison Tibau and Chris Lytle, among others.

Lawler (28-15-0-1), a former UFC Welterweight champion, is currently on a career-worst, four-fight losing skid. He has not won a fight since beating Donald Cerrone at UFC 214 on July 29, 2017, his first fight after losing the 170-pound crown to Tyron Woodley. His hit list includes Carlos Condit, Rory MacDonald (twice), Johny Hendricks, Matt Brown, Jake Ellenberger, Josh Koscheck, Melvin Manhoef, Frank Trigg and Lytle.

UFC 266 is expected to be headlined by a UFC Featherweight title fight pitting champion Alexander Volkanovski vs. Brian Ortega.