Video! Watch Diaz’s Strikeforce Rise Ahead Of UFC Return

Former Strikeforce welterweight champion and UFC title challenger Nick Diaz will make his first Octagon appearance in over six years tomorrow night (Sat., Sept. 25, 2021) at UFC 266 live on ESPN+ PPV from inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Diaz, who remains one of the most popular fighters in MMA today, will be matched up against Robbie Lawler in a five-round middleweight bout. It will be a rematch from their first meeting at UFC 47 all the way back in 2004. Diaz ended up defeating “Ruthless” with an infamous first-round knockout.

Fast forward 17 years later and Diaz is about to fight Lawler again for his first action in a very long time. There are a ton of current fight fans who may have never even seen Diaz compete, let alone compete in his prime. That’s not to say that the veteran fighter can’t turn back the clock on Saturday, but his recent shadowboxing video has provided hardcore fans some cause for concern.

That said, we really won’t know what Diaz has left until he steps inside of the Octagon at UFC 266. Lawler is not the same championship-caliber fighter he was just a few years ago, but he’s still a stiff test for anyone. It will be interesting to see how their rematch plays out, especially considering Diaz had the contest changed to a middleweight fight.

Ahead of Diaz’s return UFC has released a compilation of his greatest moments under the Strikeforce banner. From his welterweight title defense over K.J. Noons to his legendary one-round war with Paul Daley, Diaz’s Strikeforce journey is one for the ages. You can check it out above courtesy of UFC.

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 at 6 p.m. ET, followed by the remaining undercard balance on ESPNN and ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET, before the PPV main card start time at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+.