Nick Diaz believes he’s more dangerous now compared to when he first fought Robbie Lawler in 2004.

Diaz will make his highly-anticipated return to the Octagon in a five-round rematch against Lawler at UFC 266. It’s an intriguing matchup due to the fact Diaz has not fought since 2015 but he says he is here to dominate and is confident he will beat Lawler again.

“I’m actually way more of a dangerous fighter than I was when I fought Robbie Lawler the first time,” Diaz said on the UFC 266 Countdown show. “I’m not going out there to call him names, I’m going to be a lot more sportsmanlike out there, but that’s not what won me the fight, that surprised him a little bit but I would’ve won the fight anyway. I’m going to be unstoppable having made the right decisions, I’m going to beat Robbie again.”

Although some may be surprised to hear Diaz say he’s more dangerous, that could very well be the case as he has been training and improving his skill set. He is no doubt more well-rounded but whether or not the time off will impact him is to be seen.

Nick Diaz enters the fight having not fought since he suffered a decision loss to Anderson Silva back at UFC 183. The fight was overturned to a No Contest after both men tested positive. Prior to that, he lost back-to-back decisions to Georges St-Pierre and Carlos Condit for the undisputed and interim UFC welterweight titles, respectively. In his career, he holds notable wins over B.J. Penn, Paul Daley, Gleison Tibau, and Frank Shamrock among others. If he can beat Lawler at UFC 266, he will no doubt get another big fight next time out.

Do you think Nick Diaz is more dangerous of a fighter now compared to the first time he fought Robbie Lawler?