Vicente Luque was going to fight Nick Diaz at UFC 310, but Diaz had to pull out because of something that was not explained. Luque is worried about Nick’s feelings and health. They were supposed to fight before in August, the day after Nick’s birthday, but it didn’t happen because Nick had trouble with travel. Then, they tried to set up the fight again for UFC 310, but it got canceled, and no one told Luque why. After that, a video came out of Nick doing something strange, like trying to set grass on fire at night, and people started talking about it.
Luque told MMA Fighting that he was ready for anything that might happen before UFC 310, like if Diaz changed his weight or didn’t show up like he did in his last fight with Robbie Lawler. Even though it was a surprise, Luque is “happy” he’s getting a new person to fight now.
“I don’t know exactly why [it was cancelled],” Luque said. “I saw that video of him in the streets, and he didn’t look OK. And more than anything, I hope his family and he’s taking care of himself. I hope he recovers and goes back to his best state possible.
“When I saw the video—first, I didn’t know if it was a recent video or not, but I kept thinking, if it’s recent, I hope he really seeks help to get out of the situation he’s in because Nick is a fighter I follow since before I was in the UFC. He has inspired me a lot in the past. What he’s done, fighting legends like B.J. Penn, Georges St-Pierre, Anderson Silva, Carlos Condit, many big names. You see his accomplishments, and see his state at 40 years of age, that’s not how I want to see any fighter.
“This sport is very tough and we dedicate so many years to be able to make a living off this, and to see him in that situation, at his age… We don’t know what he’s going to do from now on, if he’s going to recover, if he’s going to be able to fight again, maybe open a gym and teach, whatever, but we hope for the best. It’s very sad to see him at that stage, because I don’t want that for anyone, much less a man that has inspired so many.”
🚨NEW: A video of Nick Diaz, by himself, shirtless in public, trying to light a random piece of grass on fire has surfaced online ahead of his MMA return against Vicente Luque on Dec. 7. 👀
Thoughts on this video surfacing shortly after his fight with Luque got announced? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/lVZZuZoFb8
— Parry Punch (@ParryPunchNews) November 10, 2024
In MMA, younger fighters are often matched with older, famous fighters to make the younger ones more popular. Luque, who is almost 33, could have been matched with Diaz for this, but Luque cares more about Diaz feeling better than winning a fight against someone who might not be in the best mental state.
