A few days ago, fight fans were treated to some extremely positive news. Nick Diaz took to Instagram to share a pleasant update about his personal life. Diaz shared a video of himself inside a hotel room with a sea view, claiming to be on a retreat in Mexico and intending to visit a BJJ school with a friend to continue his training. Now, his best friend, Jake Shields, has also provided us with an update.

In a recent appearance on the Overdogs podcast, the former Elite XC welterweight champion revealed that Nick Diaz is still on the path of improvement and continues being sober and away from his personal demons. Talking about his ‘brother,’ the 46-year-old said, “He’s doing a lot better now. I’m not going to share anything personal about him, but he’s been dealing with some stuff for a while, and it’s finally heading in the right direction. I’m hopeful for Nick because he’s like a brother to me—one of my best friends.”

Shields further added that the UFC fighter was going through some issues, but now things are moving in a positive direction; so much so that he hasn’t felt this hopeful about Nick Diaz in a long time. He said, “It’s painful to watch someone so close to you struggle, but I think he’s finally turning a corner. Time will tell, but I’m feeling a lot better about the situation.” It is worth noting that just about two months ago, Nick Diaz was caught on tape wandering the streets shirtless and seemingly in a state of instability.

His fans were concerned after seeing the footage, as he was scheduled to return at UFC 310. So, when his fight was canceled with no explanation presented to fight fans, many assumed that his addiction must have been the cause. Even his partner fueled the belief by addressing his addiction difficulties on social media, tweeting, “@nickdiaz209 D-ug add–tion doesn’t last forever. You either find sobriety, or it takes your life.” So, now that he is doing better, will we see him fight Vicente Luque?

The Brazilian might look away from a Nick Diaz fight

Scheduled to face Nick Diaz in August in Abu Dhabi (UAE), Vicente Luque saw the duel canceled on the eve of the card and later rescheduled for UFC 310, next Saturday (7). However, the American ‘bad boy’ again left the fight near the show, and the company’s top management replaced him with Themba Gorimbo, whom Luque successfully managed to defeat just 52 seconds into the fight.

In an interview with MMA Fighting, Luque admitted that while facing the popular Nick Diaz would bring a lot more attention and viewership to his fights, the veteran has only competed twice since 2015, winning his last fight in 2011. Therefore, from a sporting point of view and looking for greater challenges for his career, the Brazilian guarantees that opponents like Gorimbo will be more beneficial for him.

“Nick brought a lot of that hype from the fans. When I look to the UFC, there are a lot of things that can push you over. Maybe the biggest of all is hype, and I think the Nick fight brought that. Now, when I look at this fight (against Gorimbo), from a sporting side, it makes way more sense.” So, if Diaz returns to the UFC, chances are that the 33-year-old might refuse to fight against a semi-retired veteran and go fight someone who will help his rankings. But what do you think? Will we get to see the two fight? Let us know in the comments.