Nick Diaz competed for the first time in over six years Saturday and he wasn’t totally surprised the result didn’t go his way.
Following his UFC 266 loss to Robbie Lawler, a third-round TKO stoppage, Diaz (26-10 MMA, 7-7 UFC) was interviewed in the cage by color commentator and former UFC champion Daniel Cormier.
From the moment Cormier introduced Diaz, the crowd voiced their approval of the Stockton, Calif. representative. As Diaz wiped his nose, he smiled.
“I’m glad I at least put on a show,” Diaz said. “I knew I had it coming, Old Rob. I had a lot of stress coming into this one, especially being off for a long time. I don’t have no excuses. I had a long time off and I knew I had it coming.”
Diaz, 38, then reiterated a sentiment he vocalized during an ESPN interview Wednesday. He was puzzled by how the rematch against Lawler (29-15 MMA, 15-11 UFC) got set up and indicated old members of his management group may have not been clear about their business moves.
“I don’t know how this fight got set up,” Diaz said. “I had a switch-up in my whole management set-up and the way the fight got set up. It was just a bum wrap. But no excuses. I had it coming. He was in great shape. I knew I was leaking here, so I didn’t want to make too much of a mess. I’m glad to be back. I’m glad I put on a good show for you.”
Prior to UFC 266, Diaz hadn’t fought since January 2015 when he lost to Anderson Silva at UFC 183 in a fight that would later be overturned to a “no contest” due to a positive drug test by “The Spider.”
UFC 266 took place Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The main card streamed on ESPN+ pay-per-view after prelims on ESPNews/ESPN+.
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