Saturday’s UFC 266 in Las Vegas, Nevada, saw both defending champions retain their respective titles while Nick Diaz lost in his first fight in more than than five years in a third round TKO loss to Robbie Lawler.
Diaz called it a night at 44 seconds of the third round following being dropped by a Lawler right hand to his nose. When the referee asked him if he wanted to continue, Diaz shook his head and the fight was stopped. This was a rematch of their 2004 fight that Diaz won by second round knockout.
It was Diaz’s first fight since a unanimous decision loss to Anderson Silva in January 2015 that was later overturned due to Silva testing positive for PEDs. After originally slated to be at welterweight, Diaz asked for it to be at middleweight instead days before the fight which Lawler agreed to.
Even with the absence and extra weight, both rounds were competitive with Diaz landing 150 significant strikes, becoming just the 12th fighter in UFC history to do so in a loss according to ESPN Stats & Information. Of note, all the other eleven fights went longer than this did.
In the main event, Alexander Volkanovski retained his UFC men’s featherweight title with a unanimous decision win over Brian Ortega in what is being called a fight of the year candidate.
The 32-year-old champion has now won 20 straight fights (ten in the UFC) and has two title defenses since winning the belt in December 2019. This was Ortega’s second opportunity at the gold. After being unbeaten in his first 15 career fights, he has now lost two of his last three.
In the co-main event, it was another normal night at the fighting office for women’s flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko as she picked up a fourth round TKO win over Lauren Murphy. It’s the sixth title defense for the dominant champion and her eight straight win overall. It’s likely she will face women’s bantamweight and featherweight champion Amanda Nunes for the third time next.
After seven years, Nick Diaz will finally return to the Octagon at UFC 266 as he will face old foe Robbie Lawler on Saturday, September 4th.
Similar to his brother Nate’s recent five round, non-title pay-per-view main card outing against Leon Edwards, this will also be a five round affair.
The two fought at April 2004’s UFC 47 with Diaz (seen above) picking up the win via second round knockout. Diaz last fought in January 2015 against Anderson Silva in a fight that was later made a no contest due to Silva testing positive for PEDs and Diaz testing positive for marijuana.
The event will be held in Las Vegas, Nevada, which officially dropped testing for marijuana last week.
Lawler hasn’t competed since August 2020 when he took his fourth straight loss in a defeat to Neil Magny. The former UFC welterweight champion hasn’t won since December 2017.
The show will be main evented by featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski vs. Brian Ortega. The two were set to fight in March, but Volkanovski withdrew due to getting COVID-19. The two then became coaches on this season of The Ultimate Fighter. Volkanovski will be looking for his second title defense while this will be Ortega’s second career crack at the belt.
The co-main event will feature women’s flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko defending against Lauren Murphy. Shevchenko will be looking for the sixth defense of her title while Murphy has won five straight fights to earn the opportunity.
A look at the different directions Brock Lesnar could go is the lead story in the new issue of the Observer. We look at the money he can generate for a fight with Jon Jones, the reality about his trying to fight today, why he’s a free agent right now, what Tony Khan said about Lesnar, and why, unless Dana White isn’t telling the truth, it’s unlikely he will fight. Plus we’ve got comments by both White and Scott Coker on fights they would want to make if he does want to fight.
Also in this issue:
Positive COVID tests of Dwayne Johnson, A.J. Styles, Kevin Nash, Glover Teixeira and others that came out this week.
Payback, including the genesis of the Roman Reigns heel turn, the Rey Mysterio injury, the booking of the show, plus poll results and star ratigns.
New Japan at Jingu Stadium, including Tetsuya Naito growing up going to the stadium, all three-time IWGP champions, most IC tilte runs in Japan, business notes, plans for the tour going on this weeeknd, plus match-by-match coverage with star ratings and poll results.
The departure of Mauro Ranallo from WWE, looking and his five years in the company, his background prior to the company, what old and new projects he’s expected to work on, and why he left.
The NXT title Iron Man match, next Takeover shows, Rey Mysterio television cartoon show, Paul Levesque stock sales, Levesque talks UK brnad, more on different allegations against WWE talent, returns of peope who have sit time out, change to Payback, Charlotte Flair news, Renee Young talks leaving WWE, Styles talks Heyman, lots of TV ratings updates internationally, new member of WWE Board of Directors, WWE market value and the most watched shows of the past week on WWE Network.
This past week’s UFC show.
Bio of Tom Anderson, who wrestled as The Claw and one half of the Masked Interns tag team. We look at two of the most tasteless angles in wrestiling that he was involved in, how one failed miserably and how the other was a huge business success. This includes the death of Alberto Torres, the heyday of the The Interns, the history of the masked doctors tag team and where it all came from, and classic stories involving Paul “Bear” Bryant, Ken Ramey, Lonnie Mayne, Beauregarde and what top promoter wouldn’t use the Interns and Ramey and why.
The life and career of Ric Drason, from bodybuilding to wrestling, including what two AEW stars he started, the glory days of Gold’s Gym in Santa Monica and the characters involved, his art work that sold millions of T-shirts, how one of the greatest wrestlers of all-time got his name from him, and why he had chacnes to be a star and the reason he never was.
A major change in how television ratings are done and how this is expectede to impact sports the most.
A comparison of the last week of AEW with competition and the show this past week where the only television competition was a replay show. We look at how this impacted every audience, what the audience numbers are likely to be for a regular unopposed Wednesday for AEW or NXT, and go in depth as to both sides of why WWE and USA would or would not want to move NXT. We also look at the huge change in the AEW audience from 8/12 to 9/2. We also have how the audience ebbed and flowed during the Iron Man match.
Ratings of all the major shows, the key demos and quarters for AEW and WWE, what happened head-to-head and what can be learned from them.
Results of all the major pro wrestling events around the world over the past week.
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MONDAY NEWS UPDATE
Bryan and I will be back tonight with Wrestling Observer Radio talking Raw, Matt Hardy, BTE, Nick Diaz and a host of other subjects. You can send questions for tonight’s show to [email protected]
Kevin Mubenga, the agent of Nick Diaz, told ESPN’s Ariel Helwani that Diaz is ready to return to fighting early next year. Diaz, 37, hasn’t fought since 2015.
Matt Hardy ended up being the No. 9 most searched term on Google yesterday. No updates on Hardy past that he was taken home from the hospital yesterday and is expected on television on Wednesday.
The lineup for tomorrow night’s NXT special which should draw a big number:
Adam Cole vs. Finn Balor in a no time limit match for the vacant NXT title
Rhea Ripley vs. Mercedes Martinez in a cage match
Bronson Reed vs. Austin Theory
Killian Dain vs. Roderick Strong
The show goes head-to-head with Impact on AXS TV:
Chris Bey vs. TJP
Chris Sabin & Alex Shelley vs. Dezmond Xavier & Zachary Wentz for tag titles
After Impact, the Impact in 60 nostalgia show on AXS has Sting vs. Bully Ray and A.J. Styles vs. Bully Ray
Ricardo Lamas, a UFC veteran, officially announced his retirement today on MMA Junkie radio. Lamas, 38, once fought Jose Aldo in 2014 for the featherweight title and he had talked about retirement the past few weeks but today made it official.
Paige VanZant on social media noted that while her husband, Austin Vanderford, and a number of their teammates at ATT in Coconut Creek, FL, had tested positive for COVID-19, she tested negative but noted having all kinds of symptoms including a 102 degree fever, a loss of taste and smell and a swollen left eye. Vanderford was scheduled to fight on Saturday’s Bellator show but was pulled today after another positive test.
WWE
In storyline, WWE is saying Big E and Sasha Banks are no longer hospitalized.
Khazmat Chimaev, one of the company’s most talked about new fighters this summer, is scheduled against Gerald Meerschaert on 9/19, which is the final date of the current run at the Apex Arena in Las Vegas. UFC starts a five week run in Yas Island, Abu Dhabi on 9/26 with the Israel Adesanya vs. Paulo Costa middleweight title on PPV.
AEW
There were still 361 tickets left for Wednesday’s Dynamite tapings in Jacksonville as of this morning.
MISCELLANEOUS
Ohio Valley Wrestling will reach a milestone this week when it tapes its 1,100th episode. The show will be a two-hour special that features Jessie Godderz and Brian Pillman Jr., and air on 11Sports on Wednesday night and YTA Sports on Friday night. There are not all that many individual promotions that have taped 1,100 consecutive weeks of television in history and likely none of the size of OVW.
IWTV officially launched its new app this week on Apple TV. Users can get free content from their library. The previous Apple TV app will be discontinued on Wednesday so make sure to update the app.
The United Wrestling Network’s first weekly PPV show on 9/15 has added a Dan The Man Joseph vs. Levi Shapiro match for Joseph’s UWN TV title
Results from the AIW and GCW doubleheader in Indianapolis over the weekend:
AIW: AJ Gray & Pretty Boy Smooth b Eric Ryan & Bobby Beverly, Dominic Garrini b Calvin Tankman, Derek Director b Zack Thomas, Tom Lawlor b Ethan Page, Tre Lamar over Benjamin Carter, Chase Oliver and Johnny Patch, Nate Webb & Levi Everett & Swoggle & Allie Kat b The Duke & Daniel Rockingham & Eric Taylor & Mikey Montgomery, Lee Moriarty b Erick Stevens, Colin Delaney & Cheech b Phily C & Marino T to win tag titles, Matthew Justice & Mance Warner & Manders b Joshua Bishop & Wes Barkley & Mr. Brickster in a street fight
GCW: Thunder Kitty b Billie Starks, Jordan Oliver b Benjamin Carter, Chris Dickinson b Alex Colon, Tony Deppen b Calvin Tankman, KTB & Shane Mercer b Tre Lamar & Lee Moriarty, Allie Kat b Ethan Page, AJ Gray b Mance Warner, Atticus Cougar won over Dyln McKay & Nate Webb & Jimmy Loyd & Cole Radrick & Ace Austin, Joey Janela b Effy, Rickey Shane Page b Matthew Justice, Blake Christian b ACH (thanks to Nick Mahmood)
For the first time in several years, Bloody Elbow writer and ‘Show Money’ podcaster John Nash returns to the Josh Nason’s Punch Out guest chair to talk about the bizarre Nick Diaz interview and what fans should understand about the current UFC antitrust lawsuit.
We open up talking about Diaz’s interview with ESPN’s Ariel Helwani and what exactly we were supposed to take away from it. We try to extract a few key talking points and whether we ever need to see him fight again.
We then transition to the end of Gilbert Melendez’s UFC run, how we graded his time there, and whether or not Bellator is a no-brainer for a return should he keep going.
We get into the meat of the conversation which is John’s work at BE with the ongoing antitrust lawsuit. Along with Paul Gift, the two continue to dissect through court documents to make sense of the happenings, the inside details we never knew, and what’s to come. If you’ve heard of the lawsuit but don’t have the time or interest in digging in too deep through legal mumbo jumbo, this will be a great primer for you to help understand what the hell is going on and why it matters so much.
Finally, we pull a Seinfeld and ask, “What’s the deal with DAZN?”
Nate Diaz vs. Jorge Masvidal will headline November’s UFC 244 at Madison Square Garden, reported by ESPN’s Brett Okamoto via Dana White.
Outside situations where late injuries have caused a change, this will be the first UFC pay-per-view headliner in years where the scheduled main event is not for a title. White told Okamoto he is going to create a “BMF” belt for the winner and there will be no title fights as co-main event.
After a three year layoff, Diaz returned to action with an impressive August decision win over Anthony Pettis while Masvidal is coming off the fastest knockout in UFC history with his flying knee to Ben Askren’s face in July. Diaz called out Masvidal following his win and both fans and media pushed for the bout as next for both men.
UFC had been trying to put together a title fight between welterweight champion Kamaru Usman and top challenger Colby Covington and then Usman vs. Masvidal but ran into negotiation snags. It’s expected the Masvidal-Diaz winner will be next in line for a title shot.
Last year’s MSG main event was put together just a few weeks before the show with then-heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier taking on Derrick Lewis. Cormier was nursing a hand injury and Lewis had just competed and won the month prior.
While it had become expected leading into the announcement, that doesn’t make Kenny Omega joining All Elite Wrestling any less of a vital move for the start-up company.
Omega signing with AEW was confirmed at last week’s Double or Nothing ticket announcement party in Las Vegas. Omega signed a four-year deal that allows him to still wrestle for New Japan Pro Wrestling if he wants to (and if NJPW will have him). And in addition to his in-ring role, Omega will serve alongside Cody Rhodes and The Young Bucks as an executive vice president of the promotion.
I don’t expect more than a few more weeks of this format of Observers.
WWE grossed $930,160,000 and turned a $98,719,000 profit in 2018, both company records. Last year the company set a revenue record of $800,959,000 and turned a $32,116,000 profit.
Pedro Morales, best known for his three-year run as WWWF champion from 1971-73, passed away on 2/12 at Raritan Bay Medical Center in Perth Amboy, NJ, where he had been hospitalized for two weeks. He was 78 and had been battling Parkinson’s Disease for several years.
NJPW New Beginnings: As a legit shoot, while NJPW almost always sells out Edion Arena for big shows, they comped less and opened up more seats so this number was the highest since the 2015 show headlined by Hiroshi Tanhashi vs. A.J. Styles.
UFC 234 – Chaos erupted the day of UFC 234, the first UFC pay-per-view offering of 2019, at the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, Australia, causing dramatic change unheard of when it comes to UFC pay-per-view events.
It is now official that Kenny has signed with AEW.
Mustafa Ali’s eyeball got busted open and really messed up after a Garvin stomp by Randy Orton on SD Tuesday night.
Dwayne Johnson said he was the first choice to host the Oscars this year. But he said he couldn’t make it work due to the timing of shooting the Jumanji sequel.
Roman Reigns (Joe Anoa’i) will be making an appearance on a Nickelodeon series next month.
ORDERING INFO: Order the print Wrestling Observer right now and get it delivered via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to [email protected] or by going to www.paypal.com directing funds to [email protected].
Rates in the United States are $14.50 for 4 issues, $35.50 for 12, $70 for 24, $116 for 40 and $149.50 for 52.
In Canada and Mexico, the rates are $16 for 4, $27 for 8, $38.50 for 12, $76 for 24, $126 for 40 and $162.50 for 52.
For the rest of the world, rates are $18 for 4, $48.50 for 12, $93 for 24, $155 for 40 and $201.50 for 52.
If you order by mail with a check, cash or money order to P.O. Box 1228, Campbell,CA 95009-1228, you can get $1 off in every price range.
MONDAY NEWS UPDATE
WWE
Kofi Kingston spoke backstage after being the last one eliminated in last night’s WWE title Elimination Chamber match.
Kingston tweeted after the match: “I wanted to say thanks to everyone for all the love and good vibes over the past week. Your support has been just overwhelming. Tonight didn’t go our way, but I believe that we are one step closer…”
Bayley and Sasha Banks also spoke backstage after becoming the new WWE Women’s tag team champions.
The Giant Baba Memorial show, with a main event featuring Hiroshi Tanahashi and Yoshitatsu taking on Kento Miyahara and Daisuke Sekimoto, will air on Samurai TV in Japan tomorrow morning starting at 4:30 a.m. eastern.
DDT wants your match ideas for a DDT Extreme Division Championship match between HARASHIMA and Muscle Sakai by March 10.
UFC/MMA
Nick Diaz made it clear he’s not interested in fighting anytime soon, writing on Instagram: “I’m no role model, I’m 35 years old, but I definitely wouldn’t advise anybody to take a fight for less than their worth or fight for free. Which is practically what I would be doing at this point in taking a fight with some of these guys that are not on my level. Nor would I be within my moral ethics to even do that aside from you not painting me as a role model. If there was an offer I couldn’t refuse, things would be different. Until they are – I’d like to continue to think I’ve been fighting to make the world a better place, but until I can continue to do that: ‘I don’t want to hurt nobody, I just want to party.’”
Audie Attar, Conor McGregor’s manager, has denied a story from Joe Rogan saying that a McGregor/Donald Cerrone fight was a “done deal”.
The Wrap reported that Sexy Star, real name Dulce Maria Garcia, will make her MMA debut for Combate Americas, the promotion backed by Alberto El Patron. She has a undefeated 5-0 record in boxing.
Following his loss last night (and also missing weight), Renan Barao’s coach said that this is his last fight at bantamweight.
Ed in San Antonio presents the WRESTLEMANIAWeekend Events (more to be added):
Sunday, April 6th, at 12:00 pm: Lunch (all you can eat) at Churrascaria Plataforma ($90 per person), located at 316 W. 49th street in Manhattan. Purchase tickets here~!
Luxury Bus to MetLife Stadium for Wrestlemania: We will depart from the Hilton Midtown (site of Wrestlecon) located at 1335 Avenue of the Americas. Departure time is 4:00 pm and will return from MetLife approximately 30 mins after the event. Times are subject to change, and cost $67.00 per person for the round trip. Purchase tickets here~!
After four years, it appears that Nick Diaz may be making a return to the octagon next year.
Brett Okamoto of ESPN is reporting that Diaz is close to finalizing to return to the UFC at UFC 235, which is scheduled for March 2 in Las Vegas, Nevada. If both sides agree, Diaz will face Jorge Masvidal in a welterweight bout. The report says that Masvidal told ESPN this week that he had been offered the fight, but wasn’t sure if Diaz would accept.
Diaz last fought for the UFC back at UFC 183 in January of 2015, losing to Anderson Silva by unanimous decision. The result was overturned after Silva tested positive for drostanolone and androsterone. Diaz also tested positive for marijuana and suspended Diaz for 18 months. He was again suspended after missing three drug tests out-of-competition.
Masvidal also hasn’t fought in a while. He’s been out due to injuries as well as taking part in a Spanish-language reality show.
Twice a week, we go back in history to go through the WGAM MMA Show archives, a radio show I did for ESPN NH back in 2011-12.
On the September 8, 2011, guest-free edition of the show, there was no shortage of news, led off by the truly bizarre set of circumstances surrounding Nick Diaz and his no-show of a press conference that cost him a shot at then-welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre.
We talked about it all: the presser here above, the missed flights, the new fight between GSP and Condit, Diaz’s escape out the back door and more. (Here’s the column I referenced on the show.)
We discussed the other big news that Brock Lesnar wasn’t going to retire and was set to face Alistair Overeem, the news that the first UFC on Fox show date was locked, and plenty more.
Jump into the wayback machine with yours truly as we continue our run through the archives of the WGAM MMA Show, a weekly MMA focused radio show on ESPN NH that ran from 2011-12, hosted by myself and co-host/producer PJ Huot.
On the 6-2-2011 edition of the show:
– We discussed the breaking news that then-UFC welterweight champion GSP vs. then-Strikeforce welterweight champion Nick Diaz was confirmed for Las Vegas, NV. We had a lot of questions about what this meant for Diaz’s future in Strikeforce.
– We did a full review of a boring UFC 130 and aired our frustrations with Rampage Jackson and the entire light heavyweight division.
– We discussed Dana White’s pleading with Roy Nelson to drop to light heavyweight.
– We did an extensive interview with then-UFC rookie and current pro wrestler Chuck O’Neil. We talked about his TUF experience and fighting against Tony Ferguson on the show. We also asked about “Uncle” Brock Lesnar and his impending fight against Chris Cope.
– We previewed the TUF finale show featuring Ferguson vs. Ramsey Nijem and the “can’t be bad” main event between Clay Guida and Anthony Pettis.
During a Nevada Athletic Commission hearing Tuesday, the commission reduced Nick Diaz’s penalty for a marijuana drug test failure back at UFC 183 to 18 months down from five years, and a $100,000 fine, down from $165,000. He is eligible to return starting in August of this year.
At the hearing, the NAC quickly said they had reached a settlement, but didn’t reveal what the actual settlement was. It wasn’t until later that we learned what the terms were.
The original hearing came as a result of a drug test failure after Diaz’s bout with Anderson Silva. Prior to the fight, Diaz had failed twice for marijuana, and under the new drug penalties, Diaz was given a five year suspension and a fine of $165,000. The NAC believed Diaz lied on his pre-fight questionnaire, and wanted to make an example of him. However, there was a tremendous outcry of public support, as well as UFC support, including fighters refusing to fight in Nevada, and even a petition to President Obama.
Nevada deputy attorney general Christopher Eccles’ case was that Diaz’s two negative tests were diluted and that he lied on his pre-fight questionnaire. After the grassroots uprising and support from the UFC’s lawfirm, the NAC decided to re-evaluate the suspension. Diaz’ lead counsel argued that Diaz had actually passed two fight night tests and the one he failed came from a lab that was not accredited by the World Anti-Doping Agency.
