Nick Diaz’s return fight against Vicente Luque at UFC Abu Dhabi gets canceled

Nick Diaz was set to make his fighting return against Vicente Luque at UFC Abu Dhabi, but now the bout has been canceled. According to a report, the fight has been canceled due to travel issues. Diaz and Luque were scheduled to face off against each other on August 3. Now that the fight has been postponed, Shara Magomedov has stepped in to take the co-main event slot. He will face Michal Oleksiejczuk in a middleweight showdown. 

Nick’s last appearance was at UFC 266 

Nick Diaz’s last appearance in the MMA octagon was at UFC 266 in 2021, where he lost to Robbie Lawler in a rematch. This was also Nick’s first octagon appearance since his 2015 match against Anderson Silva. “Diablo” was suspended after that fight. However, now travel issues have postponed his return and there is no update about when the fight will be rescheduled for a new date. 

The UFC Abu Dhabi card has some alluring fights featuring Cory Sandhagen and Umar Nurmagomedov headlining the Bantamweight showdown. Other matchups on the card include Tony Ferguson vs. Michael Chiesa, Mackenzie Dern vs. Loppy Godinez and Marlon Vera vs. Deiveson Figueiredo. 

Jake Shield made a big revelation about the Robbie Lawler fight 

The inclusion of Shara Magomedov has made this card even more attractive for fans. Despite the absence of “Diablo,” the event promises great matches. When Diaz faced Robbie Lawler at UFC 266, he was not in good shape. Nick, who is known for his cardio and durability, gave up in the third round of the fight. His teammate, Jake Shields, has recently revealed that Nick didn’t train for that fight. 

When Shields appeared on the Jackson podcast, he stated that Nick did not train for the Lawler fight at all. “The fight shouldn’t have happened in my opinion. Not going to get into too many details, but I wasn’t too happy. I think he was kind of pressured into that, so people could make money,” said Shields. 

Nick Diaz has put on a lot of entertaining fights for fans in his prime. He has excellent skills in boxing and BJJ as well. Only time will tell when the fans will be able to see him fight again. 

Also Read: Belal Muhammad openly criticizes Leon Edwards’ title run ahead of UFC 304