Robbie Lawler ruins Nick Diaz’s return with TKO at UFC 266

Nick Diaz waited more than six years to make his return to the UFC.

Robbie Lawler had nearly three times that long to anticipate his shot at redemption.

Lawler won a technical knockout over Diaz at UFC 266 on Saturday at T-Mobile Arena to avenge a 2004 knockout loss.

The card was headlined by two title bouts.

Alexander Volkanovski survived three tight submission attempts in the middle rounds to retain the featherweight belt with a unanimous decision over Brian Ortega in one of the most entertaining bouts of the year.

Volkanovski battered Ortega for much of the 25 minutes, but Ortega was dangerous thoughout the fight right until the end. Volkanovski won all three cards, 50-45, 50-44 and 49-46.

Women’s flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko successfully defended her title for the sixth straight time with a dominant fourth-round stoppage of Lauren Murphy. Shevchenko is 10-2 since joining the UFC, with her only losses coming when she stepped up in weight to challenge Amanda Nunes.

But Diaz and Lawler were the main attraction, and the veterans put on a show until Diaz dropped to a knee in the third round after a thumping combination from Lawler against the cage and decided he didn’t want to take any more damage.

“That’s what I expected,” said Lawler, a former UFC welterweight champion who had lost four straight fights. “I expected him to bring it to me. That was a fun fight. That’s (what) I like to do. I caught him with a couple good body shots. I was trying not to get caught with too much, too big. … I was just relentless.”

Lawler is 5-0 when fighting an opponent for the second time. He made Diaz pay for trying to start the fight with a spinning back-kick just after the opening bell, backing him into the corner and going to work on the body.

The barrage appeared to snap Diaz back in the moment in his first fight since January 2015. Diaz and Lawler went back and forth, often with Diaz covering up to defend lengthy combos from Lawler before firing back with punches and then resetting the action to another spot in the cage.

Lawler started opening up early in the third, hurting Diaz with a big left. Diaz dropped to a knee as Lawler backed away and appeared to tap out with his left hand on the ground just after Lawler landed flush with a left hand.

As Lawler implored Diaz to stand up, the official asked Diaz if he wanted to continue, then waved off the fight when the 38-year-old declined.

“I’m glad I at least put on a show,” Diaz said. “I knew I had it coming from ol’ Rob.

“I had a lot of stress coming into this one. I don’t have no excuses. I had a long time off, and I knew I had it coming. He was in great shape. I’m glad to be back. I knew I was leaking, and I didn’t want to make too much of a mess.”

Former women’s flyweight champion Jessica Andrade stopped Las Vegan Cynthia Calvillo with a series of punches against the cage in the closing seconds of the first round.

Andrade could be in line for a rematch against Shevchenko, who handed Andrade her only loss at 125 pounds last year.

Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on Twitter.