The excitement surrounding a fighter’s return to competition can electrify the entire MMA sphere. But for fans of Nick Diaz, things aren’t looking good. The Stockton native’s return to the Octagon has been buzzing amongst the MMA fandom ever since it was announced that he’ll be taking on Vicente Luque at UFC on ABC 7 in Abu Dhabi. This would have been the first Octagon appearance for Diaz since his 2021 loss to Robbie Lawler.

Now, the fans may have to wait even longer for Diaz to end his 3-year absence, as it has now been revealed the fight against ‘The Silent Assasin’ is now off. But why was the fight called off? Let’s take a look at all we know about the situation so far!

Nick Diaz vs Vicente Luque was replaced for Abu Dhabi due to “travel issues”  

Nick Diaz’s UFC return won’t be happening on August 3rd! Yes, you read that right. The UFC veteran was looking to bounce back from his 2021 loss against Robbie Lawler which ended in heartbreak for the Stockton native. Diaz lost the fight via third-round TKO after getting knocked down but was unable to get back to his feet and the referee called a stop to the contest.

After his 3-year absence, Diaz was scheduled to take on Vicente Luque at the UFC on ABC 7, which will take place at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. However, according to an announcement on the UFC Vegas 94 broadcast, “travel issues” were pointed to as the reason behind the fight falling through. It was later confirmed that the issues had been affecting Diaz and not Luque.

While the promotion has indicated that they hope to book the fight between Luque and Diaz sometime in the future, no concrete dates or timelines have been provided as of now. The fight has also been replaced with a middleweight clash between Sharaputdin Magomedov and Michal Oleksiejczuk.

‘Shara Bullet’ will be coming fresh off a third-round stoppage win over Antonio Trocoli at UFC on ABC 6 in June, which was held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Meanwhile, his opponent Oleksiejczuk, finds himself in a crucial matchup as he has lost his last 2 fights against Michel Pereira and Kevin Holland and is in need of a win to snap the losing streak.

While Diaz’s withdrawal from the August 3rd event has caused a lot of uproar in the MMA sphere, in a recent interview, the Stockton native’s long-time coach had made it clear that he wouldn’t have advised the UFC veteran to take on the challenge of fighting in Abu Dhabi in the first place!

Cesar Gracie confessed his concerns about Diaz’s fight and location

Despite having been in Nick Diaz’s corner and training camps for a large majority of his career, Cesar Gracie recently confessed that he wasn’t involved in the UFC legend’s training camp for Vicente Luque. In a conversation with Submission Radio, Gracie shared his belief that he wouldn’t have been on board with either the opponent or the location for this fight!

Why does the legendary coach feel this way? Gracie explained, “I’m going to be perfectly honest with you, that wasn’t my idea. If I was advising Nick, I wouldn’t have advised him to do that fight. It’s [also] in Abu Dhabi, I wouldn’t advise to go fight overseas at this point. Luque is a very tough guy, Nick is a tough guy, but it just doesn’t make that much sense for me where Nick is at in his career…”

The news of Diaz’s fight being called off is undoubtedly disappointing for his fans. However, the decision may have been for the best given the circumstances and as Cesar Gracie said, the point he is currently at in his career. Do you think Nick Diaz made the right call to avoid taking on the fight in Abu Dhabi? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!