Nick Diaz Makes A Comeback, Tony Ferguson at Welterweight for UFC Abu Dhabi

UFC Abu Dhabi’s card on August 3 is stacked with legendary fighters. Nick Diaz, a one-time welterweight title challenger, returns to the UFC for the first time in nearly three years to clash with Vicente Luque in a five-round co-main event.

Tony Ferguson is also set to fight on the card at welterweight against Michael Chiesa. UFC CEO Dana White announced these new fights on Wednesday.

The main event, previously confirmed as Cory Sandhagen vs. Umar Nurmagomedov, will be a No. 1 contender fight, with the winner earning a bantamweight title shot.

Diaz’s booking comes as a surprise, given that his most recent outing against Robbie Lawler in 2021 didn’t inspire confidence that he was still in his prime.

Nevertheless, the 40-year-old legend continues to train and teach, working alongside his brother Nate Diaz and longtime teammates such as Gilbert Melendez and Jake Shields.

Diaz’s last win was in 2011 against B.J. Penn. Since then, he has lost to Lawler, Georges St-Pierre, Carlos Condit, and Anderson Silva, with the Silva fight being overturned to a no-contest after Silva tested positive for a banned substance.

Luque, on the other hand, is looking to rebound after a knockout loss to Joaquin Buckley in March, which brought his record to 1-3 in his past four fights.

Before this run, Luque was nearing title contention with four consecutive wins, including victories over former UFC champion Tyron Woodley and Randy Brown.

Ferguson returns in a match White hinted could be his last. The former interim lightweight champion is moving to 170 pounds after losing his past seven fights in a row.

He will attempt to break this losing streak against Chiesa, who hasn’t fought since a July 2023 submission loss to Kevin Holland, his third loss in a row.

Here’s the full main card for UFC Abu Dhabi: