Nate Diaz, right? Vicente Luque shocked Nick Diaz is back

Followers weren’t the one ones stunned to see Nick Diaz guide a combat. His upcoming opponent Vicente Luque was additionally caught off guard.

Luque (22-10-1 MMA, 15-6 UFC), a very long time welterweight contender, is scheduled to welcome back Diaz (26-10 MMA, 7-7 UFC) in a five-round combat Aug. 3 at UFC on ABC 7 at Etihad Enviornment on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi. Diaz, now 40 and with virtually three years of inactivity, wasn’t on Luque’s radar.

“I bear in mind when (my supervisor) Ali (Abdelaziz) referred to as and stated, ‘Hey, we bought a combat,’” Luque informed MMA Junkie Radio. “I needed to combat on the finish of July or starting of August, so he stated we bought Aug. 3 and that it was going to be in Abu Dhabi.

“I stated, ‘OK, that’s going to be a unique place I by no means fought,’ and he threw the title on the market, Nick Diaz. I used to be like, ‘Are you certain it’s Nick or is it Nate you’re speaking about?’ He stated, ‘No, it’s Nick. It’s actually Nick.’ I used to be like, ‘Yeah, let’s go. It’s going to be an superior combat.’ In my thoughts, Struggle of the Night time is unquestionably up for grabs.”

Diaz was one of many largest stars in MMA within the 2010s. He’s a former Strikeforce champion and ex-UFC title challenger. He and his youthful brother Nate Diaz have been a part of among the MMA’s largest fights.

For Luque, it’s a dream come true to be combating Diaz.

“Nick is a man that I all the time needed to combat earlier than I bought into the UFC,” Luque stated. “That was 2014, 2013, 2012, that’s once I was making my technique to the UFC and I watched loads of Nick fights. It was superb to look at him combat GSP, Carlos Condit, B.J. Penn, and even Anderson Silva. He’s fought all these guys that have been legendary, and for me, he’s a man I all the time needed to combat.

“I didn’t assume at this level I used to be going to combat him anymore, however now I do get to combat him. So for me, it was very thrilling to get this combat. He’s not within the rankings, however man, it’s Nick Diaz. That’s an enormous combat regardless. It’s a very good combat to get again to my profitable methods and set me up for nice issues after that.”

For extra on the cardboard, go to MMA Junkie’s occasion hub for UFC on ABC 7.