Main Card
#UFC Abu Dhabi You’re set!!!Visit Abu Dhabi
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#AbuDhabi pic.twitter.com/yUK7VdaOAc
— Dana White (@danawhite)
May 29, 2024
The Ultimate Fighting Championship has put together a strong main card for its return to Abu Dhabi this fall.
On Wednesday, the organization Announced
The five bouts that will make up the main card for UFC on ABC 7 have been announced. The bouts will take place on August 3 at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The main card will feature the already scheduled bantamweight bout between Cory Sandhagen and Umar Nurmagomedov. In addition, UFC has announced a bantamweight bout between Marlon Vera and Deiveson Figueiredo. Three other newly announced bouts are also scheduled to take place.
Co-headlining the event will be Nick Diaz (26-10, 2 NCAA Tournament) who will return to the Octagon at welterweight. The 40-year-old Cesar Gracie Fight Team mainstay will face Vicente Luque across from him in a five-round bout. For Diaz, this will be his first bout since facing Robbie Lawler at UFC 266 in 2021 and his third appearance in the past decade. Having previously lost by decision to Carlos Condit in 2012 and Georges St-Pierre in 2013, Diaz’s only other fight was against Anderson Silva at UFC 183, but the bout was declared a no contest after both men failed post-fight drug tests. The former Strikeforce champion has not won since beating BJ Penn at UFC 137 in 2011.
Brazil’s Luque has also struggled recently but has one win in 2023. In his past four bouts, Luque has been punched out by Joaquin Buckley and Geoff Neal and lost a decision to Belal Muhammad. Those losses were sandwiched between a five-round win over Rafael dos Anjos. One of seven 170-pound fighters with at least 15 UFC wins, Luque ranks second in the division with 13 finishes, behind Matt Brown’s 15.
Further down the field, Tony Ferguson (25-10) will face fellow veteran Michael Chiesa (16-7) in what UFC is calling likely his final bout at age 40. The two welterweights have lost their last 10 fights combined, with Ferguson on a record-tying seven-fight losing streak and Chiesa on a three-fight losing streak. Prior to his seven-fight losing streak, Ferguson had won 12 straight fights, including nine by stoppage, over big names such as Anthony Pettis, dos Anjos and Donald Cerrone. Chiesa’s longest UFC winning streak came when he beat Condit, Diego Sanchez, dos Anjos and Neil Magny before being tapped out by Bravo choke in the first round against Luque.
Finally, the strawweight division steps into the cage as Mackenzie Dern (13-5) takes on Lupita Godinez (12-4) in a top-10 contest. A proud grappler, Dern will be looking to turn things around after falling short in consecutive bouts against Jessica Andrade and Amanda Lemos. Dern has not submitted Nina Nunes via armbar in 2021, but she holds the record for most submissions in a UFC strawweight division (four). Godinez had her four-fight winning streak halted in March against Virna Jandiroba. Godinez has completed 26 takedowns during her time at 115 pounds, third-most in the division behind Claudia Gadelha (36) and Carla Esparza (45).
