Nick Diaz to return vs. Lawler at UFC 266
Nick Diaz is returning to the Octagon after a six-year hiatus.
Diaz, 37, has signed a contract to fight Robbie Lawler at UFC 266 in September, his attorney confirmed to ESPN's Brett Okamoto. It's scheduled to be a five-round affair, UFC president Dana White told Kevin Iole of Yahoo Sports.
The fight has been added to a card headlined by a featherweight title bout between Alexander Volkanovski and Brian Ortega and a women's flyweight title fight between Valentina Shevchenko and Lauren Murphy.
It will be a rematch of their April 2004 bout at UFC 47, which Diaz won via second-round knockout. Diaz hasn't fought since January 2015.
Diaz owns a 26-9 record with two no-contests. His last three fights finished as decision losses to Carlos Condit, Georges St-Pierre, and Anderson Silva, though the Silva bout was eventually overturned to a no-contest after "The Spider" failed a drug test.
Lawler is 28-15 with one no-contest and is on a four-fight losing streak that extends back to 2017.