Nick Diaz is Set to Make Return to UFC in September

Nick Diaz is making a comeback…

According to his longtime attorney, Ross Goodman, the 37-year-old Mexican American mixed martial artist is officially returning to the UFC.

Nick Diaz

Diaz has signed a bout agreement to face Robbie Lawler at UFC 266 on September 25 in Las Vegas.

Lawler hasn’t signed his agreement yet, sources told ESPN, but wants the fight, and is expected to sign his side shortly. The non-title fight is expected to be five rounds, and will be on the main portion of the pay-per-view card.

Diaz (26-9) is the older brother of UFC star Nate Diaz, and a pioneer in mixed martial arts. He is a former Strikeforce welterweight champion, and was involved in big fights with the UFC against B.J. Penn, Carlos Condit, Georges St-Pierre and Anderson Silva from 2011 to 2015.

In September 2015, the Nevada State Athletic Commission suspended Diaz for five years after he tested positive for marijuana metabolites after his fight against Silva in UFC 183. It was his third marijuana-related offense in the state of Nevada, which led to the harsh punishment.

Ironically, the NSAC voted just last week in favor of no longer disciplining combat sports athletes for marijuana use.

Diaz and Lawler have a history that runs back to 2004. They met on the undercard of UFC 47. Diaz won via knockout in a highly entertaining contest.

Lawler (28-15) is a former UFC welterweight champion. He won the 170-pound title by defeating Johny Hendricks in 2014 and defended it twice in instant classics against Rory MacDonald and Condit. The 39-year-old has dropped his past four bouts, all against very high-level competition.

Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. to Fight on the Same Card as His Legendary Father, Julio Cesar Chavez Sr.

Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. will be sharing a special billing with his famous father…

The 34-year-old Mexican boxer, who held the WBC middleweight title from 2011 to 2012, will return to the ring on Friday, September 25 in an event that includes his legendary father, Julio Cesar Chavez Sr.

Julio Cesar Chavez Sr., Julio Cesar Chavez J

Chávez Jr. will face Mario Cazares in an event to take place in Tijuana, Mexico, while his former professional boxer dad, a multiple-time world champion, will fight in an exhibition bout against Jorge “Travieso” Arce.

Chavez Jr. (51-4-1, 33 KOs) will face Cazares (11-0, 5 KOs) in a sanctioned 10-round light heavyweight bout. Cazares was the last fighter to defeat Canelo Alvarez as an amateur in 2004.

Chavez Jr. had planned to return October 17, but his father persuaded him to join his exhibition card.

The Nevada State Athletic Commission placed Chavez Jr. under indefinite suspension for refusing a random drug test ahead of his bout against Daniel Jacobs on December 20. That middleweight fight eventually took place in Phoenix, where Chavez Jr. quit in the fifth round with a broken nose to boos from the crowd.

The fight took place after Chavez Jr. won a temporary restraining order lifting the Nevada ban. However, the suspension was reinstated a few months later. Chavez Jr. has been training in California since.

Chavez Sr. and four-division champion and fellow Mexican legend Arce, will headline the card.

This is the third exhibition bout between Chavez Sr. and Arce. Another of Chavez Sr.’s sons, Omar (38-6-1, 25 KOs), joins the card in his first fight since a loss to Oziel Santoyo in June 2019. Arce’s nephew, Karim Arce (16-2, 7 KOs), is also scheduled to fight.

The event will be streamed live on pay-per-view.

Jose Pedraza Defeats Mikkel LesPierre in Catchweight Bout

Jose Pedraza is back in winning form…

The 31-year-old Puerto Rican boxer and former two-time world champion was in excellent form this week as he dominated Mikkel LesPierre, dropping his opponent twice in the 144-pound catchweight bout in the main event of a Top Rank card in Las Vegas.

Jose Pedraza

The scorecards read 100-88, 99-89 and 99-89 in favor of Pedraza (27-3), who showed that he still has a chance to be a title contender.

“I had it all coming together for me,” Pedraza said. “In boxing you can’t have an off night. I was physically fit, I was mentally fit, spiritually fit. I put it all together this evening, I couldn’t afford not to. That’s the kind of performance you get from me when I’m 100 percent focused.”

There was some controversy in the fifth round as LesPierre sent Pedraza to the canvas with a straight left to the body. Later on in the round, Pedraza evened things up by scoring his own knockdown with a left hook-right hook combination.

But before the sixth round started, referee Kenny Bayless paused the action to check the replay in accordance with Nevada State Athletic Commission rules and decided that LesPierre had tangled his feet with Pedraza, and he overturned his original ruling.

But that moment was simply academic, because Pedraza was the dominant force throughout the fight. Boxing out of both the right-handed and southpaw stance, he darted in and out, throwing slashing punches that came from all directions. His upper-body movement made him an elusive target for LesPierre. To cap things off, Pedraza scored another knockdown in the 10th from a left hand and had LesPierre staggering. To LesPierre’s credit, he showed great heart and made it to the final bell.

LesPierre, who worked at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York throughout the coronavirus pandemic, fell to 22-2-1. The 35-year-old had his moments, but it wasn’t enough to overcome Pedraza’s speed and power. By the end of the night, he had a bloody nose and a cut near the corner of his right eye. LesPierre had challenged Maurice Hooker last year for the WBO’s 140-pound title.

Coming off his listless effort against Jose Zepeda last September, there were many questions about the future prospects of Pedraza. Prior to that defeat, the only boxers to beat him were Gervonta Davis and Vasiliy Lomachenko

While his performance versus Zepeda left much to be desired, on this night he was quick, fast and decisive with his movements on both offense and defense. He’s now focused on another title bout in the 140-pound class, which has two unified champions in Jose Ramirez and Josh Taylor.

Cynthia Calvillo to Fight Jessica Eye in UFC Fight Night Bout in June

Cynthia Calvillo is heading back to the Octagon next month.

The 32-year-old Latina mixed martial artist and fellow UFC women’s flyweight Jessica Eye have agreed to fight on June 13 at UFC Fight Night, according to ESPN.

Cynthia Calvillo

The bout would headline the event, sources said, though a location wasn’t immediately known.

Eye (15-7, 1 NC) is coming off a unanimous decision victory over Viviane Araujo at UFC 245 in December. It was her first fight since she challenged for the flyweight title and suffered a devastating head-kick knockout to champion Valentina Shevchenko at UFC 238 last June.

Eye, who is currently ESPN‘s No. 8-ranked women’s flyweight, has won four of her past five fights.

Calvillo (8-1-1) returns to the Octagon after fighting to a majority draw with Marina Rodriguez in December. That bout was fought at a catchweight after Calvillo missed the contracted strawweight limit.

Next Saturday’s UFC cardis expected to take place at the company’s Apex facility in Las Vegas. The location is subject to change until Wednesday, when the Nevada State Athletic Commission is scheduled to formally vote on reopening the state to combat sports.

NSAC officials indefinitely suspended all combat sports in mid-March because of the coronavirus pandemic.