Robbie Lawler knows he spoiled Nick Diaz’s comeback fight, but the UFC veteran is grateful to Diaz for bringing out a great performance from him.
Lawler told the post-fight press conference that he was thrilled with his own performance in their rematch, which took place a full seventeen years after the first. In fact, he thanked Diaz for the fight immediately following Lawler’s TKO victory.
Lawler Thanks Diaz for “Bringing Out The Best” in Him
“I just said thank you for bringing the best out of me. I have a lot of respect for you and hopefully your life is going to get together and good things are going to happen to you.
He’s a hell of a guy. He’s a nice guy. He’s a freaking warrior. In this sport and sports in general, you want the best for your opponents and the athletes that you see around you. I like him.”
Lawler also opened up about the lead-up to the fight and his own surprise at meeting Nick Diaz in the Octagon once again. L
“I did not think I was going to fight him [again]. Then two months ago, when they offered me the fight I was like all right, this fight gets me excited.
I don’t think everyone expected to see me the way I was today. I think they thought they were going to see the guy who’s been fighting for the last one and a half, two years. That wasn’t who showed up today and I spoiled some plans.”
When discussing his own approach to the fight, particularly considering that Diaz delivered a knockout win in their last outing, Lawler declared that he was happy to put on “a nice show for the fans.” “I’ve been working on my skills.
I had 10 weeks to get ready for him. I didn’t gain a whole bunch of weight as soon as I knew [we were fighting at middleweight]. It’s not like I started eating junk food. I kept it pretty similar weight wise. I probably weighed about 183 [pounds] in the ring.
I knew I was in shape. I was just going to press the pace. He likes to fight on the inside and close and so do I, so he obliged and we put on a nice show for the fans.”
Do you want to see Robbie Lawler continue to fight at middleweight, or a Nick Diaz trilogy fight? Let us know in the comments.
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