Nick Diaz has just started dropping hints about making his return to professional MMA, and the date he’s alluding to falls in line with UFC 310. He shared a short training montage to social media with the caption: ‘70 days. It’s my way.’ and that lined up perfectly for December 7th, 2024. There’s been no official announcement from the UFC just yet, but there’s plenty of rumours circulating about the elder Diaz brother making a return at that event in particular. According to various MMA media outlets, the long-awaited fight between Diaz and Vicente Luque has been in the works for the event.
The two men were originally scheduled to fight at UFC on ABC 7 earlier this year, but Diaz withdrew from the fight due to “travel issues”. Although it wasn’t officially rebooked at the time, both of them were eager to meet in the octagon and were happy to reschedule the fight. Understandably so, as the fight represents a big opportunity for both fighters and it’s the product of excellent matchmaking. Luque will be eager to add a win over a huge name to his resume and use the fight against Diaz to get back in the win column, beginning his climb back up the welterweight rankings.
It’s a different kind of fight for Nick Diaz, who would be making a return to MMA after a little over 3 years away from the sport. Although there will undoubtedly be a little bit of cage rust involved, Diaz is no stranger to extended layoffs. His last fight against Robbie Lawler came off the back of a 6-year absence, and he’s only fought twice in the last decade. There will be a lot riding on this fight for Diaz too, as he’ll be searching for his first win in over 13 years and won’t have much time left to find it at the age of 41.
Nick Diaz started hinting at a return to MMA at UFC 310 in a recent post to his official Instagram account:
