Nick Diaz has his next MMA fight date confirmed for August 3, when he faces Vicente Luque at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, UAE. The pair squares off in the co-main event at UFC Fight Night: Sandhagen vs Nurmagomedov. The bout is scheduled for three rounds at welterweight.
Diaz (26-10, 2 NC) makes his first UFC Octagon appearance in almost three years. In his previous outing in September 2021, the 40-year-old native of Stockton, California was stopped by old rival Robbie Lawler in the third round.
32-year-old Luque (22-10-1) fights for the second time in 2024. The Westwood, New Jersey native was in action in March, when he was TKO’d by Joaquin Buckley in the second round.
UFC CEO Dana White announced the Diaz vs Luque fight via video posted on X.
Also officially set for the event, a rescheduled welterweight matchup between former lightweight title challenger Tony Ferguson and Michael Chiesa. The pair was expected to battle it out back in July 2016, but the contest fell off after the latter withdrew due to back injury. Chiesa (16-7) of Aurora, Colorado lost three of his previous bouts. Ferguson (25-10) of Oxnard, California lost seven fights in a row.
The women’s strawweight bout between Mackenzie Dern and Loopy Godinez has been also made official. Dern (13-5) of Phoenix, Arizona is coming off a pair of defeats. Mexico’s Godinez (12-4) also looks to return to winning ways.
In addition, the promotion confirmed a previously announced UFC Abu Dhabi main event pitting No. 2-ranked bantamweight contender Cory Sandhagen (17-4) of Aurora, Colorado against No. 9 Umar Nurmagomedov (17-0). Also confirmed a 135-pound bout between No. 4 Marlon Vera (23-9-1) of Ecuador and former two-time UFC flyweight champion and No. 6 Deiveson Figueiredo (23-3-1) of Brazil.
The current UFC Abu Dhabi lineup looks as the following:
- Cory Sandhagen vs. Umar Nurmagomedov, bantamweight – UFC bantamweight title eliminator
- Vicente Luque vs. Nick Diaz, welterweight
- Marlon Vera vs. Deiveson Figueiredo, bantamweight
- Mackenzie Dern vs. Loopy Godinez, women’s strawweight
- Tony Ferguson vs. Michael Chiesa, welterweight
