Ultimate Fighting President (UFC) Dana White signed Nick Diaz vs. Robbie Lawler as a welterweight contest; however, he expects good things from a move to middleweight at UFC 266.
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 place3 this weekend (Sat., Sept. 25, 2021) inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, streaming online via ESPN+. It was reported on Tuesday that Diaz vs. Lawler was being moved from welterweight to middleweight — just four days from fight night. The request was made by Diaz’s camp and, according to White, Lawler agreed without too much fuss.
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CHAMPIONSHIP DOUBLEHEADER! Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) returns to T-Mobile Arena with a pair of thrilling world championship bouts. The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 29 coaches collide when Featherweight champion, Alexander Volkanovski, defends his title against No. 2-ranked contender, Brian Ortega. UFC 266’s co-main event will see women’s Flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko go for her sixth consecutive title defense when she meets No. 3-seeded contender, Lauren Murphy. Last, and certainly not least, Nick Diaz returns against former Welterweight roost ruler, Robbie Lawler, in a five-round banger.
“It’s good. Robbie Lawler flew in last night. He obviously wasn’t happy about it, but Robbie is a gamer,” White told the Jim Rome Show on Wednesday. “Robbie is a fighter. He’s going to do it. Those guys are going to fight on Saturday night at 185-pounds.
“It makes it a better fight, to be honest with you,” he continued. “17 years ago, this fight happened. These guys are a lot older and counting down to that 170-pounds takes a lot out of you. These guys are going to come in fresh. Neither one of them are going to have to cut.”
Lawler reiterated White’s comments.
“I mean I’m ready to go,” Lawler said during UFC 266 media day (h/t MMA Fighting). “That’s all that matters. Camp went well and controlling the things I can control.
“We had a short conversation,” Lawler said about speaking to White. “It is what it is. I’m ready to fight. We’re moving forward.”
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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