The upcoming UFC Fight Night card in Abu Dhabi was injected with a massive dose of star power and intrigue on Wednesday morning.
In addition to a previously announced main event between bantamweight contenders Cory Sandhagen and Umar Nurmagomedov, the organization confirmed a five-round welterweight scrap between Vicente Luque and a returning Nick Diaz will serve as the co-main event.
That wasn’t all, however, as a three more notable matchups were added to the event scheduled for Aug. 3 at Etihad Arena: Marlon Vera vs. Deiveson Figueiredo, Tony Ferguson vs. Michael Chiesa, plus Mackenzie Dern vs. Loopy Godinez has also been scheduled.
Diaz, the older brother of Nate Diaz, returned from a six-year hiatus from mixed martial arts at UFC 266 in 2021. Diaz, who will turn 41 the day before the summer event, looked like a shadow of his former self in a technical knockout loss to former rival Robbie Lawler. At the time, it was unclear if Diaz would compete in the UFC again. Diaz has fought only four times in the past 12 years and has not earned a victory in professional MMA since beating B.J. Penn at UFC 137 way back in 2011.
Luque, 32, is another respected veteran, despite losing three of his past four outings.
Ferguson vs. Chiesa is also set to take place at 170 pounds and also features a pair of veteran fighters who have struggled finding success in recent years. Chiesa, 36, has lost three in a row, dating back to 2021. Ferguson, ever since his 12-fight winning streak was snapped, has dropped a whopping seven straight fights.
Vera vs. Figueiredo, a matchup first reported by Brazilian outlet Ag. Fight, is an excellent matchup in the men’s 135-pound division. Vera is looking to rebound from a unanimous decision loss to current champion Sean O’Malley at UFC 299, while former flyweight champ Figueiredo will look to stay hot at bantamweight following his submission win over Cody Garbrandt in the opening bout at UFC 300.
Dern and Godinez are rarely in dull fights. Dern has lost four of six but has won Fight of the Night in three of those outings; Godinez had a four-fight winning streak snapped by Virna Jandiroba in late March.
Sandhagen is the No. 2-ranked contender in the division, behind O’Malley and next-in-line challenger Merab Dvalishvili. The 32-year-old is 10-3 since debuting in the UFC six years ago and riding a three-fight winning streak that included a doctor’s stoppage of Song Yadong and five-round decision wins over Marlon Vera and Rob Font.
Nurmagomedov is 17-0 as a pro and has won all five of his UFC bouts since making his debut for the organization in January 2021. He is ranked No. 8 in the division and is the cousin of former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov. He is coming off a three-round unanimous decision victory over UFC newcomer Bekzat Almakhan in March, during which Nurmagomedov outlanded his opponent 145-5 in total strikes.
This will be the fifth UFC event held at Etihad Arena since 2021.
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