"My skills are sharp" - Robbie Lawler is confident in his preparation ahead of upcoming fight with Nick Diaz

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Nick Diaz (left), Robbie Lawler (right) [Images Courtesy: @nickdiaz209 @ruthless_rl on Instagram]

Robbie Lawler's five-round fight with Nick Diaz is rapidly approaching. Despite the fact that he hasn't had a huge amount of success in the UFC octagon as of late, 'Ruthless' is immensely confident in his chances of winning this weekend.

Robbie Lawler has competed in the UFC as far back as 2002, when he defeated Aaron Riley at the promotion's 37th event. He has had a Hall of Fame worthy career, which peaked with him winning the UFC welterweight title in 2014.

However, as of late, Lawler has struggled to maintain a consistent run of form. He is currently on a four-fight losing streak, having come up short against Rafael dos Anjos, Ben Askren, Colby Covington and Neil Magny. He's now set to rematch Nick Diaz, whom he last shared the octagon with in 2004.

Ahead of the fight, Robbie Lawler spoke with BT Sport about how he is feeling coming into such a high-profile clash with his former foe. Lawler stated that he feels in great physical shape. In true fighter fashion, he remarked that he isn't at all phased by the fight being moved up to 185 pounds on short notice.

"I feel good. I put in a really good camp. Had good guys... Sharpening my skills. That's really what I focused on... Nick's a huge name and I changed a few things. My body feels great, which is awesome. My mind's where it needs to be. My skills are sharp. Training camp went really well and that's why I'm not worried about 185 or 170 (pounds), because I know the work I put in and I know the effort and everything that I did, I did it the right way. And that's what I'm falling back on."

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Robbie Lawler's thoughts on Nick Diaz's request to move the fight to middleweight

One of the major narratives surrounding the fight between Robbie Lawler and Nick Diaz is the change in weight. The fight was initially scheduled to be at welterweight. However, as we entered fight week, Nick Diaz requested that the fight be changed to a middleweight bout.

Robbie Lawler did agree to it, but he did have the following to say on the topic:

"It's definitely something that I don't like, the way it went down. But it is what it is, so I have to, kinda, move forward and focus on the task at hand, which is making sure my weight is where it needs to be and that I'm sharp. I mean, it is what it is."

You can check out BT Sport's full interview with Robbie Lawler below:

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