UFC Abu Dhabi just got a lot more stacked with a former Strikeforce welterweight champion in Nick Diaz and a former interim UFC lightweight champion in Tony Ferguson being added.
On August 3rd, the company returns to Etihad Arena. This will be the organization’s nineteenth event in that region of the world. UFC president Dana White took to social media to announce some massive news for this Summer UFC Fight Night including the return of an MMA icon who has been dormant competitively for close to three years.
Nick Diaz will step back into the octagon and tests skills against the presently ranked number thirteen welterweight Vicente Luque. The former UFC welterweight title contender and former WEC champ at 170 pounds will look to take out a ranked contender in his return. This Luque matchup appears to be a stiff test and a barnburner on paper.
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Nick Diaz returns and Tony Ferguson is back
Also the blades and shades will be out in full force as Tony Ferguson returns. He moves up to welterweight to collide with Michael Chiesa. The beloved long time lightweight will return to 170 pounds for the first time since his Nate Diaz fight. Ferguson previously won the thirteenth season of The Ultimate Fighter as a welterweight. ‘El Cucuy’ will look to snap one of the deepest losing skids in UFC history. He has dropped his last seven straight fights heading into this one.
To get back to winning ways, he must get by a man looking to snap a three fight losing streak in his own right. Chiesa will return to the octagon after over a year outside of competition.
Other contests already set for the card include Cory Sandhagen versus Umar Nurmagomedov in a high-stakes clash at 135 pounds. Sandhagen versus Nurmagomedov will see the number two ranked bantamweight clash with the number ten ranked contender in the weight category, respectively. Title eliminator discourse understandably surrounds this throw down for many onlookers.
There is also another consequential contest at bantamweight set for this event. Former UFC title challenger at 135 pounds Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera clashes with former UFC flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo.
Plus, Mackenzie Dern and Loopy Godinez will do battle at 115 pounds at UFC Abu Dhabi. The former and latter will come in as the number seven and number ten ranked UFC strawweights, respectively.
