Robbie Lawler ruins Nick Diaz’s return with TKO at UFC 266

Nick Diaz waited much than six years to marque his instrumentality to the UFC.

Robbie Lawler had astir 3 times that agelong to expect his changeable astatine redemption.

Lawler won a method knockout implicit Diaz astatine UFC 266 connected Saturday astatine T-Mobile Arena to avenge a 2004 knockout loss.

The paper was headlined by 2 rubric bouts.

Alexander Volkanovski survived 3 choky submission attempts successful the mediate rounds to clasp the featherweight loop with a unanimous determination implicit Brian Ortega successful 1 of the astir entertaining bouts of the year.

Volkanovski battered Ortega for overmuch of the 25 minutes, but Ortega was unsafe thoughout the combat close until the end. Volkanovski won each 3 cards, 50-45, 50-44 and 49-46.

Women’s flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko successfully defended her rubric for the sixth consecutive clip with a ascendant fourth-round stoppage of Lauren Murphy. Shevchenko is 10-2 since joining the UFC, with her lone losses coming erstwhile she stepped up successful value to situation Amanda Nunes.

But Diaz and Lawler were the main attraction, and the veterans enactment connected a amusement until Diaz dropped to a genu successful the 3rd circular aft a thumping operation from Lawler against the cage and decided helium didn’t privation to instrumentality immoderate much damage.

“That’s what I expected,” said Lawler, a erstwhile UFC welterweight champion who had mislaid 4 consecutive fights. “I expected him to bring it to me. That was a amusive fight. That’s (what) I similar to do. I caught him with a mates bully assemblage shots. I was trying not to get caught with excessively much, excessively big. … I was conscionable relentless.”

Lawler is 5-0 erstwhile warring an hostile for the 2nd time. He made Diaz wage for trying to commencement the combat with a spinning back-kick conscionable aft the opening bell, backing him into the country and going to enactment connected the body.

The barrage appeared to drawback Diaz backmost successful the infinitesimal successful his archetypal combat since January 2015. Diaz and Lawler went backmost and forth, often with Diaz covering up to support lengthy combos from Lawler earlier firing backmost with punches and past resetting the enactment to different spot successful the cage.

Lawler started opening up aboriginal successful the third, hurting Diaz with a large left. Diaz dropped to a genu arsenic Lawler backed distant and appeared to pat retired with his near manus connected the crushed conscionable aft Lawler landed flush with a near hand.

As Lawler implored Diaz to basal up, the authoritative asked Diaz if helium wanted to continue, past waved disconnected the combat erstwhile the 38-year-old declined.

“I’m gladsome I astatine slightest enactment connected a show,” Diaz said. “I knew I had it coming from ol’ Rob.

“I had a batch of accent coming into this one. I don’t person nary excuses. I had a agelong clip off, and I knew I had it coming. He was successful large shape. I’m gladsome to beryllium back. I knew I was leaking, and I didn’t privation to marque excessively overmuch of a mess.”

Former women’s flyweight champion Jessica Andrade stopped Las Vegan Cynthia Calvillo with a bid of punches against the cage successful the closing seconds of the archetypal round.

Andrade could beryllium successful enactment for a rematch against Shevchenko, who handed Andrade her lone nonaccomplishment astatine 125 pounds past year.

Contact Adam Hill astatine ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ connected Twitter.