"Excited to watch Nick Diaz perform" - Dillon Danis pays his respect to the Stockton native ahead of his return at UFC 266

Dillon Danis isn't known for being respectful to fighters, but he's made an exception for UFC veteran Nick Diaz. After six years away from the sport, Diaz will finally make his much-anticipated return to the octagon at UFC 266 later tonight.

He is set to run it back with fellow fight game veteran Robbie Lawler in a middleweight encounter. The rematch between the pair is taking place 17 years after their first fight in 2004.

Ahead of the fight, Dillon Danis took to Twitter to share his excitement for the five-round clash. He also mentioned that Nick Diaz will "always" have his respect.

"Excited to watch Nick Diaz perform tonight man always has my respect."

Danis recently landed himself in trouble. He was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct at a bar in New Jersey.

In a clip doing the rounds on the internet, Danis can be seen being choked out by a security guard. The individual was forced to subdue the Bellator fighter until police arrived.

Check out the video below:

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Dana White explains similarity between Nick Diaz and Mike Tyson

UFC president Dana White recently compared Nick Diaz's pre-fight mindset to that of legendary former heavyweight champion boxer Mike Tyson.

In an interaction with ESPN MMA, White spoke about how Diaz's approach to the fight is similar to how 'Iron Mike' approached some of his bouts.

"When you talk to him (Nick Diaz) he’s very Tyson-eque. He reminds me of Tyson. When you talk to Tyson and when Tyson is not in the right mood, he’ll tell you all the things that he hates about fighting. When he’s in the right mood, he’ll tell you all the things that he loves about fighting. He has this love-hate relationship with the fight game like Mike does. They’re very similar in the way that they speak.”

Catch ESPN MMA's interview with Dana White below: