UFC 266 has itself a very exciting welterweight- middleweight matchup? It doesn't matter. The card has a very exciting fight with the return of Nick Diaz against former champion Robbie Lawler. The contest has the fanbase excited for good reason. Many people are going to discover the older Diaz brother for the first time. We're going to continue with the UFC odds series.

Nick Diaz hasn't fought in almost seven years with his last fight being a No Contest against Anderson Silva (originally a decision win for Silva). His last victory was in 2011 against BJ Penn, the fight was extremely exciting and was a dominant victory for the older Diaz brother. His return presents many questions and hopefully, we can get some answers Saturday night.

Robbie Lawler hasn't fought in over a year. His last fight came against Neil Magny in August 2020. He is on a four-fight losing streak having not won a fight since 2017. He originally lost to Nick Diaz back in 2004.

Here's how BetOnline currently has the odds.

UFC 266 odds: Robbie Lawler vs Nick Diaz odds

Nick Diaz (+140)

Robbie Lawler (-160)

Over 3.5 rounds (-160)

Under 3.5 rounds (+130)

How Nick Diaz wins the fight

It's hard to tell what a fighter is going to look like after such a long layoff. So we'll go with what we know. Diaz has great boxing and great cardio. He's going to look to strike and use volume to outpoint Lawler. Whether he's able to still do that after almost seven years away from the sport is a tough question. A knockout is not likely, although it wasn't likely in the first fight either. Lawler is known for being tough and hasn't been finished lately despite his decline. Diaz is capable of getting a knockout but it's not likely as that's not his normal game plan. Diaz's best chance is to use his boxing and volume in order to outpoint Lawler and collect a decision at UFC 266.

How Robbie Lawler wins the fight at UFC 266

Lawler is supposed to be the fresher fighter in this one. He'll be expected to use that to his advantage early. He is a slow starter so that could be a problem. He still holds an advantage from competing at a high level more often. Lawler should land the harder punches on the feet and should have a good output to win the fight. He normally loses the first couple of rounds but with Diaz being an unknown commodity that could change. Lawler will look to keep things standing and win an entertaining contest. Wrestling won't be an issue here at UFC 266.

Nick Diaz-Robbie Lawler prediction & pick:

Robbie Lawler lands some hard punches early and finds his footing before Diaz. It won't be complete domination but he is expecting to land the more effective punches and take whatever Diaz throws at him. Lawler finds his rhythm early and keeps it going until the end of the fight. A finish isn't likely but could happen.

Final Nick Diaz-Robbie Lawler pick:

Robbie Lawler wins by decision.