UFC color analyst Joe Rogan was not in attendance for UFC 266 but had a strong reaction after seeing Nick Diaz return against Robbie Lawler.
Inside the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, the two legends met for a second time. In their initial encounter in 2004, Diaz walked away with the victory after knocking “Ruthless” out cold. Lawler would get his chance at redemption seventeen years later and avenge his loss. After dropping the Stockton native, the referee called the fight off when Diaz refused to no longer engage.
Diaz was cryptic in his ESPN interview before the fight and mentioned that he was confused as to how/why the rematch with Lawler came together. Rogan spoke about the Stockton slugger on his podcast The Joe Rogan Experience.
“I don’t know how much time he had to prepare, and why they agreed to do a fight on short notice,” Rogan said. “I think it was only like six weeks notice, which I think is fine if you’re Michael Chandler. If you’re in peak form right now and you’re ready to go, if someone gives you six weeks, I bet you can get ready for a fight. But if you’re a guy who’s been off for that long, you’re going to need more time. I’m just guessing. I don’t know how much time it took him. But my point was he didn’t do that bad for a guy that was out six (years).”
According to Rogan, the six years of inactivity were present in Diaz’s latest fight. The long-time voice of the UFC believes the 38-year old simply needs more time to prepare. While just speculative, Rogan appears confident that if Diaz was given the liberty of time, he would have turned in an even better performance.
What did you make of Nick Diaz’s performance at UFC 266?
