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This weekend’s UFC 266 event saw Nick Diaz return to the octagon for the first time since 2015. Unfortunately, the Stockton native found himself stopped by strikes for the first time since 2002 at the hands of Robbie Lawler.
Following his loss to Lawler, should Nick Diaz continue to fight in the UFC or should this fight mark his final appearance in the octagon?
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The truth is that while the majority of Nick Diaz’s fans would love to see him return for one more run and would probably not be against him getting a UFC welterweight title shot, the safer route would be for him to stop fighting.
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Whether Nick Diaz himself agrees with this is another thing entirely, of course, and a decision like this should never come lightly. However, here are five good reasons why Nick Diaz should never fight in the UFC again.
#5. Nick Diaz looked way past his best in his fight with Robbie Lawler
While many fans were expecting to see Nick Diaz in vintage form at UFC 266, the unfortunate truth is that he looked like a shadow of his old self in his clash with Robbie Lawler.
Alarm bells began to ring during the week leading up to the fight when some official UFC footage of Nick Diaz shadow-boxing appeared to suggest he wasn’t in the best physical shape. And when it was announced that his fight with Lawler was being changed into a middleweight bout, seemingly because Diaz couldn’t make the 170-pound weight limit, even more eyebrows were raised.
Those fears were largely made into reality on Saturday night. Sure, Nick Diaz showed some glimpses of his old self, most notably by landing some smooth punching combinations on Lawler as he attempted to back him up. But the old Nick Diaz would never have been corralled by a fighter like Lawler as he was at UFC 266. Nor would he have been incapable of returning as much fire as the fight got longer. The old Diaz was a cardio machine, whereas it was clear early on that this iteration was becoming tired.
And of course, Nick Diaz was once renowned for his durability, so to see him eventually fold, essentially after a delayed reaction, was absolutely disturbing.
At the age of 38, to see Diaz slowing down is hardly a surprise, but nobody wants to see their heroes get old. And at UFC 266, Nick Diaz looked old and past his best, meaning he should probably step away now.
#4. Nick Diaz may have enough money to ensure he doesn’t need to fight again
Quite how much money Nick Diaz made for his efforts at UFC 266 this weekend will remain a mystery for the foreseeable future, as the Nevada State Athletic Commission no longer releases any salary information after events.
However, based on estimates, as well as his past UFC fights, it’s likely that he probably made plenty for his loss to Robbie Lawler. It’s been estimated, in fact, that Diaz may have made upwards of $500k this weekend.
That kind of payout would make him one of the UFC’s better paid fighters, but it wouldn’t be the first time Nick Diaz has made plenty of cash after a fight. He was paid a reported $400k for his loss to Anderson Silva and made $200k for his loss to Georges St-Pierre. And for both fights, Diaz likely took a cut of the pay-per-view revenue too, meaning his payouts may have been in the millions.
Essentially, then, Nick Diaz really shouldn’t need to keep fighting past his prime in order to set himself up financially.
Sure, there’s a chance that he may have blown the money he earned previously, but he also has a side gig going too in the form of the Nick Diaz MMA Academy.
So while it’s clearly great to earn half a million dollars for fighting, it’s probably something that, at this stage, Nick Diaz doesn’t need to do. So based on his performance against Lawler, it ought to be time for him to step away.
#3. What more does Nick Diaz have to prove?
Nick Diaz has never held a UFC title during his MMA career and many fans would probably argue that his record of 26-10 isn’t all that good when compared to some of his peers.
However, when you consider all that he’s accomplished in the sport since he started fighting professionally back in 2001, it should immediately become clear that at this stage Nick Diaz has nothing to prove.
He’s held titles in the WEC, Elite XC and Strikeforce, he’s beaten tremendous fighters such as BJ Penn, Paul Daley and Frank Shamrock and has taken all-time greats like Georges St-Pierre and Anderson Silva to the limit.
More to the point, when you consider that he first broke into the UFC in 2003 and arguably hit his peak when he returned to the promotion in 2011, he’s pretty much the last of a dying era.
Who else from that period is still around, after all? St-Pierre and Penn are retired. Another former Diaz foe, Carlos Condit, recently joined them too. And the other fighters who were at the top of the welterweight division at a similar time, names like Jon Fitch, Josh Koscheck and Martin Kampmann, are long gone too. Robbie Lawler, who defeated Diaz at UFC 266, is obviously still around, but for how much longer is definitely up in the air.
Essentially, if he were to step away now, Nick Diaz would still be considered one of the greatest welterweights of his era and one of the most popular of all time, too. If he sticks around and continues to lose fights, though, all he’ll be doing is potentially damaging his legacy. After all, he has absolutely nothing to prove at this stage anyway.
#2. Nick Diaz may be harming his health if he continues to fight
Perhaps the most important thing when it comes to Nick Diaz and his future with the UFC is his own health. Once considered one of the most durable fighters in MMA, his fight with Robbie Lawler showed that even an iron jaw like Diaz’s can be cracked.
Sure, he wasn’t fully knocked out, it was more cumulative damage that finished him off, but signs of his waning ability to weather punishment were definitely on show. And of course, the Lawler fight wasn’t the first time that we’d seen Nick Diaz take punishment in the octagon.
His face is basically a mass of scar tissue at this point, as he suffers cuts in literally every fight he’s involved in and who knows how many traumatic brain injuries he’s taken both in fights and in training over the years?
Fans have spoken for a long time about their fears that Diaz may be showing early signs of CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy) due to his penchant for slurring his speech in interviews. While there’s no concrete proof of that, it’s easy to understand those concerns.
When Nick Diaz defeated him in 2011, B.J. Penn stated that he was going to retire because he couldn’t justify going home to his family looking like such a mess. A decade later, surely it’s time for Diaz to admit the same and stay away for his own good.
#1. Nick Diaz has already stated that he doesn’t really like fighting anyway
The UFC has plenty of other fighters on its roster who should probably consider retirement, with names like Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone and Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua immediately coming to mind. But part of the reason veterans like them stick around is because they clearly love fighting. The same cannot be said, unfortunately, for Nick Diaz.
Despite being one of the most popular fighters in UFC history, as well as one of MMA’s all-time great antagonists, Diaz has stated on multiple occasions that he doesn’t enjoy fighting at all.
In an interview prior to UFC 266, for instance, the Stockton native was quoted as saying that fighting was just “something that I do” and that he’d tried to get away from it, but various factors simply wouldn’t let him do so.
“I never enjoyed fighting. It’s just something that I do. It’s just what I do. I tried to get away from it, but really it’s kind of inevitable. It is. All the people around me and all the money and sponsors, they won’t let me get away from fighting. There’s things I could do, but it’s not going to work out. I might as well just go and take my punches."
If Nick Diaz really feels this way, then why is he continuing to fight? Obviously, he is, or was, good at fighting and can make big money from stepping into the octagon.
At 38 years old, though, and with plenty of money already made, should he really be doing something that clearly brings him no enjoyment whatsoever? The honest answer is no.
Nick Diaz has always had a love/hate relationship with MMA. Based on both his recent interviews and his fight with Robbie Lawler, it’s clear that the 'hate' side of that relationship is winning right now. So why not simply walk away from it before it becomes too late?
