Nick Diaz is back—hopefully.
The former WEC and Strikeforce welterweight champion was scheduled for a return to the Octagon last month in Abu Dhabi, but travel issues forced him to bow out of the bout. Now, his originally scheduled scrap with No. 14 ranked contender Vicente Luque is being targeted for the UFC’s final pay-per-view of 2024.
According to a report from Alex Behunin of MMA Mania, the promotion is working on booking Diaz vs. Luque for UFC 310 on December 7 in Las Vegas.
If the fight does come to fruition, it will be Diaz’s first fight since a 2021 shellacking at the hands of former welterweight titleholder ‘Ruthless’ Robbie Lawler at UFC 266.
Diaz, 41, last saw his hand raised inside the Octagon in 2011 following a unanimous decision victory over BJ Penn at UFC 137. In the time since, the leader of the Diaz army has come up short against Carlos Condit, Georges St-Pierre, Anderson Silva, and the aforementioned Robbie Lawler. However, his UFC 183 loss to Silva was later overturned by the Nevada State Athletic Commission to a no-contest after ‘The Spider’ failed a drug test.
Luque Looks to Use Nick Diaz as a Stepping Stone Back to the Win Column
As for Luque, ‘The Silent Assassin’ will look to climb back into the win column following a second-round knockout loss to Joaquin Buckley in March. Luque has lost three of his last four with his only win during that run coming against former lightweight titleholder Rafael dos Anjos in August 2023.
Before the recent string of losses, Luque had a nice run of wins, defeating Niko Price, Randy Brown, and another former UFC champion—Tyron Woodley.
Combined, Nick Diaz and Vicente Luque have 69 career fights with 40 of them ending inside the distance. Being nine years younger and far more active than the Stockton, California native, it should come as no surprise that Vicente Luque is a sizeable 5-to-1 favorite to come out on top against Diaz.
Relive some of Nick Diaz’s more exciting moments ahead of his return below:
