The Diaz brothers are becoming quite familiar with five-round co-main events.
The rematch between Nick Diaz and Robbie Lawler, which was previously reported as being in the works, is now official for Sept. 25 as the five-round co-main event of UFC 266. MMA Fighting confirmed the news with UFC officials following an initial report by Yahoo Sports.
Diaz’s younger brother, Nate Diaz, made history earlier this year at UFC 263 when he competed in the first five-round, non-title co-main event ever held on a UFC pay-per-view with his decision loss to Leon Edwards.
Now it will be Nick Diaz’s chance to do the same.
Diaz (26-9, 2 NC) has not fought since a 2015 bout against Anderson Silva, which was originally a decision loss but was subsequently overturned into a no contest after Silva tested positive for two banned substances. The 37-year-old Stockton native has competed against a who’s who of the early days of the sport, picking up notable wins over B.J. Penn, Paul Daley, and Frank Shamrock throughout his 20-year run.
Lawler (28-15, 1 NC) is a former UFC welterweight champion renown as one of the most exciting fighters in the history of the sport. The 39-year-old owns victories over Rory MacDonald (x2), Johny Hendricks, Carlos Condit, Donald Cerrone, and many others over his own 20-year career. Lawler has dropped four consecutive bouts, the most recent of which came in a decision loss to Neil Magny last August.
Diaz and Lawler fought once before, with Diaz winning a memorable brawl via second-round knockout at UFC 47 in 2004.
UFC 266 takes place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski is expected to face one-time title challenger Brian Ortega in the main event.