Former welterweight champion Robbie Lawler is set to make his return to the Octagon at next weekend’s UFC 266 event opposite Nick Diaz.
Lawler and Diaz initially collided seventeen years ago at UFC 47, with the Stockton prospect emerging victorious by way of second round knockout. Since then both men have gone on to have extremely successful MMA careers.
Nick Diaz captured the Strikeforce welterweight title in 2010 and went on to defend the belt on three occasions. He later competed for the UFC welterweight strap but ultimately was outpointed by longtime division kingpin Georges St-Pierre.
As for Robbie Lawler, ‘Ruthless’ went on to capture the EliteXC middleweight title in 2007, defending the belt on one occasion against Scott Smith. Lawler later returned to the UFC where he eventually captured the promotions welterweight title by dethroning Johny Hendricks in 2014.
Now in the midst of the first four-fight losing skid of his career, Robbie Lalwer (28-15 MMA) admits that it takes the right opponent for him to get up for.
Former welterweight title challenger Jorge Masvidal recently expressed interest in fighting Nick Diaz, this if the Stockton native returns to the win column at UFC 266, but he never mentioned ‘Ruthless’.
That feeling appears to be shared by Robbie Lawler who recently told MMAMania that a fight with ‘Gamebred‘ doesn’t excite him.
“No, not really,” Lawler responded when asked about a possible fight against Masvidal. “I trained with Jorge. Spent a lot of time with him at American Top Team. It doesn’t excite me to get training.”
Thankfully for fight fans, Robbie Lawler shares a much different sentiment towards his upcoming opponent Nick Diaz.
“Obviously, we come to fight. Nick Diaz is a no-nonsense — he has antics in the fight — but really, he’s coming to fight, get you out of your game and look to push the pace. Obviously, I like to get into people’s faces and try to land big shots so it’s going to be exciting!” – Lawler previously told ESPN.
Who do you think would emerge victorious in a hypothetical fight between former training partners Robbie Lawler and Jorge Masvidal?