Veteran fan-favorite, Nick Diaz has been backed to perform in his return to the Octagon later this summer ahead of his fight with Vicente Luque at UFC Abu Dhabi – with bantamweight best, Sean O’Malley praising his performance last time out in his rematch against ex-champion, Robbie Lawler.
Diaz, a former welterweight title challenger under the banner of the UFC and gold holder whilst competing in the WEC (World Extreme Cagefighting) and Strikeforce, is slated to make his return at UFC Abu Dhabi in August, taking on Brazilian-American contender, Luque in a return to 170lbs to boot.
Sidelined for the last three years, Diaz most recently dropped a TKO retirement loss to former titleholder, Lawler in the pair’s rematch – snapping a six-year hiatus from combat sports in the process.
Nick Diaz backed for success in UFC Abu Dhabi return
And with much made about his booking against welterweight challenger, Luque – Diaz has been backed to perform to aplomb by the above-mentioned, O’Malley, who praised his display three years ago against Lawler.
“That’s so badass,” Sean O’Malley said on his podcast of Nick Diaz’s return to the UFC. “Nick Diaz? Definitely could have gave him a better match up. [Tony Ferguson] would have been perfect.”
“His fight with Robbie Lawler, he was looking f*cking good though,” O’Malley explained. “He looked good, he really did. Until he lost.”
Without a victory since 2011, Diaz most recent win came in the form of a unanimous decision win over former two-division champion, B.J. Penn – before going on to compete against former championship-winning trio, Carlos Condit, Georges St-Pierre, and Anderson Silva.
UFC Abu Dhabi takes place on August 3. from the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, UAE – with a potential bantamweight title eliminator between Cory Sandhagen, and Umar Nurmagomedov slated to take main event honors.
Do you think Nick Diaz can land success in his return to the Octagon this summer?