While Nick
Diaz gave a game effort at UFC 266, it wasn’t a vintage
performance from the Stockton, Calif., native.
More than six years since his last Octagon appearance, Diaz faced
Robbie
Lawler in a rematch on Oct. 25 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las
Vegas, where he suffered a TKO defeat when he declined to continue
44 seconds into the third round of their middleweight bout.
While Diaz was able to unleash some of his renowned multi-punch
combinations, he fatigued badly down the stretch — something that
would have been unheard of in years past — which led to him asking
out of the fight in the final stanza. In an interview with ESPN, UFC
president Dana White said he’d prefer not to see Diaz step into the
Octagon again.
“Regardless of how good he looked or what he did after such a huge
layoff, I don’t think Nick should fight,” White said. “It’s not
that I was in favor of it. He’s a grown man and can do whatever he
wants to do. I just don’t think that Nick does it because he loves
it. I think Nick does it because he has to do it. I don’t know,
man. People always ask me, ‘What’s the key to success?’ It’s all
about being happy and doing what you love.”
In the past, Diaz has made it apparent that he doesn’t necessarily
enjoy fighting, and that mentality is clear to someone like
White.
“When I always talk about the people who sit in bumper-to-bumper
traffic and go to a job they hate, that’s what I feel like with
Nick
Diaz when he’s getting ready for a fight,” White said. “He’s in
bumper-to-bumper traffic going to a job that he doesn’t love at
all. It’s actually fascinating. But for a guy that’s been off as
long as he has, nothing but respect for Nick.”
It’s unclear whether Diaz is truly interested in fighting again
after UFC 266. In a post-fight interview that night, he questioned
the matchmaking behind the Lawler matchup but otherwise seemed
content with how things played out.
“I don’t know how this fight got set up,” Diaz said then . “I had a
whole switch up in my management setup, the way that the fight got
set up. It was just a bum rap.
“But no excuses, I had it coming, he was in great shape. I knew I
was leaking [blood] here so I didn’t want to make too much of a
mess. I’m glad to be back. I’m glad to put on a show.”