Nick Diaz (26-10) will return to the Octagon for the first time in nearly three years when he faces Vicente Luque (22-10-1) in a five-round co-main event at UFC Abu Dhabi on August 3. .
UFC CEO Dana White made the announcement on Wednesday and also revealed that Tony Ferguson would face Michael Chiesa in a welterweight battle.
White also said the winner of a fight between Cory Sandhagen and Umar Nurmagomedov would earn a bantamweight title shot as the No. 1 contender for the belt. Sandhagen-Nurmagomedov was previously announced as part of the main event of the card.
UFC Fight Night in Abu Dhabi turns 40 Diaz’s first fight since September 2021, when he lost via TKO to Robbie Lawler at UFC 266. This came after a longer layoff as before the Lawler fight, Diaz had not fought since losing by unanimous decision in 2015 against Anderson Silva which was later changed to no contest.
It’s been over a decade since Diaz won a fight – a unanimous decision over BJ Penn at UFC 137 in 2011.
The remainder of the Abu Dhabi main card will see Marlon “Chito” Vera take on former flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo in a bantamweight bout and a strawweight match featuring Mackenzie Dern vs. Loopy Godinez.
