Stephen Thompson gave his forecast for the winner of Nick Diaz vs. Robbie Lawler 2 at UFC 266.
On episode 22 of the ‘What’s Up Everybody?!’ podcast hosted by Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson and his brother Tony ‘Sweet T’ Thompson, Stephen and Tony weighed in on the highly anticipated Diaz-Lawler rematch.
“Well, that’s a good one. I like both of them. But I would say, when was the last time Nick Diaz got finished. I know he hasn’t fought in like what, four years, or something like that? But the guy’s taken less punishment in the last four years than Robbie Lawler has.” Stephen Thompson said.
Tony noted that Nick Diaz’s last fight took place about 6 years ago when he faced Anderson Silva in 2015. Stephen added that Diaz hasn’t stopped training during his time away from the octagon.
Wonderboy pointed out that Nick Diaz helps his younger brother Nate prepare for fights, trains jiu-jitsu and is still very much connected with the sport. Stephen mentioned the resilience of Nick Diaz, but Tony noted that Diaz was knocked out of the regional MMA circuit. However, both brothers agreed that Nick Diaz is difficult to knock out.
“I’m gonna go with Nick Diaz, man…I mean, obviously, Robbie Lawler can put anybody out with one of his punches. But you do lose a little bit of that reaction time not being in it long enough, you know. You lose the feel a little bit of not being out there competing”, Stephen opined that this fight could go either way but added, “I’m thinking Nick. I’m leaning towards; the meter’s leaning towards Nick at this point.” Stephen Thompson said
Also Stephen Thompson believes that since Lawler got KO’d by Tyron Woodley in 2016, he hasn’t displayed the same firepower.
Furthermore, Stephen and Tony noted that Lawler has gone the distance in all his recent losses, except in the Woodley loss. But it’s essential to note that the losses have come against pressure fighters. They added that Nick Diaz is a pressure fighter who’ll bring the fight to Lawler, and that would pose problems for the latter.