REPORT | Nick Diaz pushed for UFC 300 fight against Colby Covington before booking Abu Dhabi return
Nick Diaz wanted many different opponents before settling on a fight with Vicente Luque at UFC Abu Dhabi.
Earlier today, Dana White announced that the former Strikeforce champion would be returning in August. For Nick Diaz, the fight will mark his first since a third-round stoppage loss to Robbie Lawler at UFC 266 in September 2021. That bout ended a nearly seven-year hiatus from the sport for the former titleholder.
In Abu Dhabi, Nick Diaz will face longtime welterweight contender Vicente Luque. For his part, ‘The Silent Assassin’ is coming off a knockout loss to Joaquin Buckley in March. That defeat was the Brazilian’s third, in his last four bouts. Luque previously suffered lopsided losses to Geoff Neal, and Belal Muhammad in prior fights.
However, Nick Diaz was originally wanting a much bigger name for his UFC return. Earlier today, Ariel Helwani discussed the return of the longtime fan-favorite on The MMA Hour. There, the reporter revealed that Diaz pushed for many, many different opponents before booking his return for August. Some of those names include Michael ‘Venom’ Page, Kevin Holland, and even Georges St-Pierre.
(via Zuffa LLC)
Nick Diaz pushed for fights with Colby Covington and others before booking UFC return
Lastly, Nick Diaz wanted a fight against former interim welterweight champion Colby Covington. Helwani revealed on his show that the Stockton native wanted to face ‘Chaos’ in a massive bout at UFC 300. However, after every other option didn’t come to fruition, he agreed to fight Luque in August.
“This has been in the works for quite some time, I’ve been told.” Ariel Helwani stated on The MMA Hour discussing Nick Diaz’s return. “Nick has been pushing for a GSP fight, didn’t come to fruition. He was then pushing for a Colby Covington fight at UFC 300, didn’t come to fruition. He then after ‘MVP’s debut and win at 299, pushed for that fight on the June 29th Conor McGregor card, UFC 303. Didn’t come to fruition.”
He continued, “He then pushed for Kevin Holland on the June 29th card, and thought that was going to be the one. But as you know, it didn’t come to fruition… They said ‘What about Vicente Luque in Abu Dhabi?’, initially he didn’t want to go overseas. [But], I’m told the people in Abu Dhabi want Nick Diaz.”
What do you make of this UFC news? Are you happy with Nick Diaz vs. Vicente Luque over the other potential matchups?
This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM
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