Nick Diaz may have failed in his MMA comeback but the door has always been open for a return to boxing.

The thrilling atmosphere didn’t last long at the T-Mobile Arena as a completely different Nick Diaz unraveled in the third round of his UFC 266 bout against Robbie Lawler.

The former UFC welterweight champion Lawler, landed a flurry of hard combinations and eventually dropped Diaz after he followed it up with a devastating right hand to the returning MMA star’s nose.

Diaz’s got dropped and it prompted referee Jason Herzog to ask if he wanted to continue, but got a head shake as response.

Herzog then called the fight off and declared Lawler as winner via TKO at 44 seconds of the third round.

Unlike the Diaz the sport has known for years, the one who lost to Lawler accepted defeat and didn’t even try to insult anybody.

“I had a lot of stress coming into this one,” the former UFC welterweight title contender said via Bleacher Report. “I've been off a long time. Yeah, I don't have no excuses—I've been off a long time. I don't know how this fight got set up. I had a switch-up in my whole, uh, you know, management set-up.”

“It was just a bum rap,” he continued. “But no excuses. I had it coming, and he was in great shape.”

Addressing the fans who came to see him enter the octagon once again, Diaz uttered “at least I put on a show” after the fight.

Indeed, Diaz put on one and his spinning back kick right after the opening bell rang certainly gives justice to it.

What’s even more interesting, the 38-year-old was evidently slower and heavier than his usual form. However, according to official stats, Diaz still managed to connect on 150 of his impressive tally of 339 strikes.

The defeat revealed that Diaz is not the same fighter he was and a fight against another more active UFC contender will be absurd. However, the said stat proves he’s definitely not someone who should be written off.

There could be a lot of stuff running inside Diaz’s head and among them might have to be retirement. Surely, the California native could forget about the UFC and it wouldn’t be much of a shock if he considers entering boxing.

Some may not know, but Diaz actually has one professional boxing win to his name. And with MMA legends taking part in boxing matches becoming somewhat of a trend these days, a return to one of his bases isn’t a bad idea after all.

 

Should things stay as it is in terms of his plans, Diaz might soon link up with some of the promotions spearheading the said boxing matches.

“I have to see where he is in his contract,” Diaz’s trainer Cesar Gracie told MMA Fighting ahead of his UFC return. “It is possible that his next fight will not be in the UFC.”

“Nick is very open to take a fight in MMA or boxing,” he revealed.