Nick Diaz will return to the UFC for the first time in nearly three years on Aug. 3 when he meets Vicente Luque in the co-main event of a Fight Night card at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, UFC CEO Dana White said via social media on Wednesday. Also returning to action in the main card opener will be Tony Ferguson, who will face Michael Chiesa.
White announced the entire main card for the Aug. 3 show, which will be headlined by a No. 1 contender's fight at bantamweight between No. 2 Cory Sandhagen and No. 10 Umar Nurmagomedov. In his video, White called Nurmagomedov the best prospect at bantamweight.
In addition to those two bouts, White said other main card fights would be Marlon "Chito" Vera against Deiveson Figueiredo; Mackenzie Dern would take on Loopy Godinez in a strawweight bout and Ferguson versus Chiesa.
Diaz will be looking for his first win since he defeated Hall of Famer B.J. Penn at UFC 137 on Oct. 29, 2011, in Las Vegas. In his last appearance, on Sept. 25, 2021 at UFC 266, Diaz was stopped at 44 seconds of the third round by former welterweight champion Robbie Lawler.
Ferguson will compete for the first time since a loss to Paddy Pimblett at UFC 296 on Dec. 16 in Las Vegas. Ferguson will look to snap a seven-fight losing streak when he meets Chiesa.
The main card for #UFCAbuDhabi is set!!!@VisitAbuDhabi | @InAbuDhabi | #InAbuDhabi pic.twitter.com/yUK7VdaOAc
— danawhite (@danawhite) May 29, 2024