Nick Diaz will make the walk to the octagon once more, when he faces Vicente Luque at UFC Abu Dhabi.
The MMA legend was one of a number of names that have been confirmed to feature on the August 3rd card, which will see Cory Sandhagen and Umar Nurmagomedov battle it out for the number one contender spot at 135lbs, in the main event.
Diaz vs. Luque will serve as a five round co-main event, in an announcement that came as a shock to many. The bout will see the 40-year-old make the walk for the first time since his 2021 contest against Robbie Lawler, which marked his return to competition following a 5 year hiatus.
The Diaz brothers have been synonymous with the sport for many years, with their ‘any where, any place, any time’ mentality and attitudes appealing to a lot of die hard fans, with the brother’s popularity surging amongst the more casual fan Nate beat Conor McGregor at UFC 196. Both brothers now have bouts lined up with Nate appearing to pursuit some success inside the boxing ring, with a match against former MMA opponent Jorge Masvidal lined up a little less than a month before Nick’s MMA return.
In a career that started way back in 2001, Diaz made a name for himself competing on the domestic scene before signing with the UFC in 2003. After 10 fights with the promotion, Diaz had a handful of bouts with EliteXC, before signing with Strikeforce in 2009. His run with Strikeforce was undoubtedly the purple patch of his career, going on a perfect 6 fight run and picking up the Strikeforce Welterweight title in the process. After claiming the vacant strap against Marius Zaromskis, the Stockton native then successfully defended the belt against KJ Noons, Evangelista Santos and Paul Daley, before returning to the UFC roster. In his return, Diaz beat BJ Penn to set up an interim Welterweight title bout against Carlos Condit. He was handed a unanimous decision loss by Condit but faced Georges St-Pierre for the full title a little over a year later but was dealt another unanimous decision defeat.
Diaz then decided to move up to Middleweight to face Anderson Silva. Silva was known for his allusive style and with Diaz’s no nonsense attitude, the pair put on a show for the fans inside the MGM Grand, with Diaz even opting to lie on the floor whilst Silva showboated. Although Silva was originally given the victory, he then tested positive for a banned substance and the contests was subsequently overturned to a no contest.
Following the Silva bout, Diaz had his first hiatus from mixed martial arts.
There were several other contests confirmed at the same time as the Diaz announcement, with the main card now finalised for the August 3 Fight Night. Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera will face former Flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo in a Bantamweight contest, Mackenzie Dern will take on Lupita Godinez in a Strawweight bout and Tony Ferguson will open the main card in a Welterweight contest against Miachael Chiesa.
