Nick Diaz vs Robbie Lawler: It's going to be bloody

On September 25 into 26, the two retired fighters, Nick Diaz and Robbie Lawler, will lock horns at UFC 266. But this fight is third on the list. Why?

We seem to be forgetting what old school is. Nick Diaz will remind us. He bullies his opponents, he provokes, he imposes the fight. He throws a lot of punches, even using his shoulders. He is not afraid of ground fighting, actively working both in the guard and in the mount. At the same time you can see that he is not trying to destroy his opponent quickly when he seems to be ready to give up. Diaz respects those who aren't afraid to fight, it's as if he gives them multiple chances per fight, showing respect. He can be waist-deep in blood because of horrible cuts, but even with bloodshot eyes he can race K.J. Noons around the mat. Or after a knockdown, he can keep on fighting and knocking out his opponent, like he did against Paul Daley. He lives the fight, it's not a job, otherwise he wouldn't have continued to fight Joe Riggs already in the hospital. His style and attitude delights the fans, his fights make the arena stand up like at a Metallica concert. Diaz gives fans what they want to see, that is, drama and fighting.

But he ended his career back in 2015, losing two fights in a row (to Georges St-Pierre and Carlos Condit) and getting disqualified for marijuana. Nevertheless, he is coming back for a second fight with Lawler, and to the delight of the fans.

«It’s not all fun and jokes for me. We go out to smash each other's faces while people watch and laugh about it. That's why I don't guffaw or shake hands with the opponents. I don't find anything funny here, and I'm sure I shouldn't have any respect for someone who comes out to beat me up for the public's amusement.»

Nick Diaz

Lawler hasn't officially ended his career yet, but it's kind of time he did. But Robbie's personality still attracts fans. After all, he's the kind of fighter that Greg Jackson once said to surrender in a fight only if they're subjected to inhuman torture and suffering.

Robbie cemented himself in this image of the butcher and king of violence forever on July 11, 2015. After 21 minutes of carnage that night, Lawler outlasted his opponent, who collapsed from the pain in a broken nose and simply refused to continue the fight. Just when it seemed like the violence and horror were over, a frightening episode occurred after the result of the fight was announced.

Dana White who entered to present the belt warned Lawler not to say anything out loud because his lip was torn and he could aggravate the injury. Robbie laughed devilishly at that.

Robbie won the UFC welterweight title in 2014, defended it twice, and lost it in 2016 by knockout to Tyron Woodley.

The 39-year-old American has an overall pro record of 29 wins (21 by knockout, 1 by submission) and 15 losses (2 by knockout, 6 by submission).

Это мгновенно обрушило котировки, и БК Winline, например предлагает на победу Ника уже 2,30, на победу Робби – 1,60. И пусть букмекеры не верят в досрочное завершение поединка, я все-таки думаю, когда двое отмороженных на всю голову заходят в клетку друг против друга, а бой этот наверняка станет последним для каждого, то никакого компромисса здесь не будет.

The odds on Diaz and Lawler were roughly equal until recently. But Diaz took it upon himself to post a video of him doing a few punches through the air, like a shadow fight and showed off his terrible form.

This instantly caused the coefficients to plummet and, for example, 1xbet offers 2.23 on Nick's victory and 1.61 on Robbie's. And even though the bookies don't believe the fight to end early, it still seems that there will be no compromise, with the two crazy fighters standings against each other. 

«Do I feel confident? I never do. I never have. I always feel like I'm going to get trashed out there. Every fight I've ever done. 'How do you feel against Robbie Lawler?' I feel like I'm going to get the shit beat out of me. And even when I win, I get beat up worse.»

Nick Diaz