Anderson Silva says he was saddened to see Nick Diaz stop the fight, but believes the Stockton native will be back stronger

Anderson Silva has backed Nick Diaz to come back stronger despite the way his fight against Robbie Lawler ended at UFC 266 last weekend.

“I’m sad because Nick Diaz never did this, stop the fight. I’m sad because Nick Diaz is strong and an honour fighter. I believe Nick Diaz is gonna come back stronger and better, and I pray for him,” said Anderson Silva in an interview on The MMA Hour.

In what proved to be a bout that was far more entertaining than it had any right to be, Robbie Lawler and Nick Diaz took each other to the limit in Las Vegas. While the king of Stockton did look good in parts, he couldn’t sustain the pace and ultimately fell to Lawler with a third-round retirement.

Watch Anderson Silva's interview below:

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Is Nick Diaz done?

Six years ago, we saw Silva defeat Nick Diaz via unanimous decision. Very few could've imagined it would take this long to see him compete again. Alas, now that it's happened, it may be time to take a long look in the mirror and question what we want from Nick Diaz at this stage in his career.

Nobody can deny the impact he's had on the sport since he first made his way into the mix two decades ago. However, his recent bout against Lawler just didn't seem to showcase the very best of what we're used to seeing from either guy.

That's not a knock on them, either, because they're both legends and veterans of the game, but it was easy to see that Diaz was just about done when he went down in the third.

He gave as good as he got, and while Anderson Silva may think he's going to come back stronger, we're not so sure there's even a need for him to do so. Nick Diaz has nothing left to prove and this is a fine way to ride off into the sunset.