Robbie Lawler is known for being one of the most violent yet humble warriors in UFC history. For every highlight of Lawler being ferocious in the cage, there’s another of himself wishing his opponent well. The trend for Lawler continued after audio was captured of his words to Nick Diaz immediately after their fight at UFC 266.
Lawler Offers Words of Encouragement to Nick 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, Robbie ultimately got revenge on Diaz, TKOing him in round three. After hitting Nick with several shots, Diaz decided to remain downed.
While the optics of Nick’s decision appeared to make fans believe he gave up, both Lawler and UFC pundits agreed that Diaz was smart enough to know he was finished fighting. Captured on video offering immediate words of encouragement after the fight was Lawler, pledging to help Diaz in any way possible.
Robbie Lawler checking on Nick Diaz after their rematch is a special moment 👏 (via @ufc) pic.twitter.com/1HDBnBNNe0
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) October 5, 2021
“Robbie: Are you good?
Nick: All good, man.
Robbie: Are you good… in life?
Nick: *inaudible sounds*
Robbie: That’s f—ng different. You know what I’m saying?
Robbie: Let f—ng know if I can help.”
Owning the Loss
Diaz seemed to be more at peace with his fight career than in the past despite the losing efforts. Moreover, he mentioned after the fight that he had no excuses after his loss and knew that he had it coming.
“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.”
“I don’t know how this fight got set up,” Diaz said. “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.”
Would MMA fans like to see Nick Diaz return to the octagon once again?
