Nick Diaz vs. Robbie Lawler will not compete in a Welterweight bout at UFC 266; instead, the two mixed martial arts (MMA) legends will rematch in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Middleweight division.
Diaz vs. Lawler serves as a marquee fight on the pay-per-view (PPV) main card of UFC 266: “Volkanovski vs. Ortega,” which will take place this weekend (Sat., Sept. 25, 2021) inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, streaming online via ESPN+. While the bout was originally scheduled to be contested at 170 pounds, Ariel Helewani reports the fight has been reorganized at 185 pounds.
“A specific reason for the late change wasn’t revealed. The fight will remain a five-round non-title fight, per sources,” Helwani wrote. “Both fighters have a history of fighting at 170 and 185, and both have expressed a desire to cut less weight these days.”
Diaz and Lawler will run things back 17 years after their first fight. The Stockton native won their first fight via knockout at 1:31 of round two (watch full fight here), improving to 9-2 as a professional MMA fighter. Lawler dropped to 8-2 as a result of the outcome; however, both men were destined for greater things.
Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 266 fight card right here, starting with the early ESPN+ “Prelims” matches online, which are scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. ET, then the remaining undercard balance on ESPNEWS/ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET, before the PPV main card start time at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+ PPV.
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