Dana White recently announced a blockbuster fight night event in UAE Abu Dhabi on August 3rd. Headlined by Umar Nurmagomedov and Cory Sandhagen, the event has a surprising co-main event between Nick Diaz and Vicente Luque.
Fight fans had criticized White for the fight, particularly as Tony Ferguson vs. Michael Chiesa is on the same card. Nonetheless, Luque has no qualms about fighting a legend like Nick Diaz, as evidenced by his words in the interview with MMAJunkie.
It’s going to be an awesome fight, and in my mind, Fight of the Night is definitely, you know, up for grabs.
Vicente Luque via MMAJunkie
Luque stated Diaz was a durable fighter who could take tremendous damage. Since the fight is five rounds, Luque stated the fight would win Fight of the Night, particularly if Diaz showed off his durability and returned fire. He even stated Diaz did well before he lost to Robbie Lawler in his latest fight.
Interestingly, Luque couldn’t believe it when his manager, Ali Abdelaziz, called for a fight against Diaz. He initially thought the UFC offered Nate, the younger brother of Nick Diaz. Luque had grown up watching the exciting fights of Diaz during his prime. However, he never thought he would fight Diaz.
Ariel Helwani explains how Vicente Luque vs. Nick Diaz came to be
Dana White shocked the MMA community by announcing the five-round fight between Nick Diaz and Vicente Luque. Diaz had not fought since his unsuccessful comeback against Robbie Lawler at UFC 266, and Luque had lost his last fight to Joaquin Buckley at UFC Atlantic City.
Nick Diaz (Image via: Instagram)Top MMA journalist Ariel Helwani had inside information about how Luque vs. Diaz came to be. Diaz was pushing for a rematch with Georges St. Pierre, which didn’t come to fruition. Afterward, Diaz targeted fights with Colby Covington at UFC 300, Michael Venom Page at UFC 303, and Kevin Holland at UFC 303. None of the fights materialized due to injuries and other commitments of the three mentioned fighters.
However, the powers in the Middle East wanted Diaz on their fight card. As such, there was a jockeying of power between the UAE and Saudi Arabia. Diaz was hesitant to fight overseas but eventually agreed. Unlike the previous fight, sources revealed to Helwani that Diaz is in peak physical and mental state. With Nick returning to the UFC, it remains to be seen whether Nate will return after his boxing fight against Jorge Masvidal.
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