Dana White believes that Nick Diaz performed well at UFC 266. Despite losing to Robbie Lawler, the UFC President was impressed by Nick’s overall performance.
Lawler Versus Diaz
Lawler was KO’d by Diaz in their first encounter at UFC 47 back in 2004. So, the rematch was a fight that he had been looking forward to for nearly two decades. As the men squared off for Nick’s return, Robbie ultimately got revenge on Diaz, TKOing him in round three. After hitting Nick with several shots, Diaz decided to remain downed.
Initially, fans believed that Diaz looked like a shell of himself. However, Nick himself admitted that he felt the loss coming as a result of inactivity.
“I’m glad I at least put on a show,” Diaz said during his post-fight interview.
“I knew I had it coming. Old Rob. I had a lot of stress coming into this one, especially being off a long time. I don’t have no excuses. I’ve had a long time off and I knew I had it coming.”
Dana White on Nick Diaz Return
Although Diaz wasn’t happy with his performance, the UFC was. Dana White told the media that he was impressed with Nick’s performance and that it exceeded expectations.
“I thought Nick Diaz looked incredible considering he hasn’t fought in five years,” White told reporters in Las Vegas. “I don’t know what I was expecting. You never know what to get with the [Diaz] brothers, but let me tell you what — with a five-year layoff, I thought he looked unbelievable. And I don’t know if you guys saw Robbie after the fight, but Robbie had freaking knots and lumps all over him. Those two went to war.
“I thought Robbie was just going to go out there and buzz-saw through him — and that was not the case.”
The jury is still out on if Diaz will ever fight again. But if Dana was impressed by his performance, there may be incentives to secure another big check.
