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UFC welterweight contender Vicente Luque is concerned for Nick Diaz after their matchup once again hit a roadblock en route to the Octagon.
Luque was originally set to welcome Diaz back to the cage at the UFC Fight Night in Abu Dhabi this past August. That fell through weeks beforehand, with travel issues being cited as the reason.
It was later rescheduled for the final pay-per-view of 2024, UFC 310 in Las Vegas next month. But doubts over that coming to fruition arose when a video emerged appearing to show the shirtless Stockton native attempting to light grass on fire in the street.
People's fears were realized when the bout's cancellation was confirmed, with rising prospect Themba Gorimbo taking Diaz's place to face Luque inside T-Mobile Arena on Dec. 7.
During a recent interview with MMA Fighting, "The Silent Assassin" reacted to losing his planned opponent again, this time expressing more concern given the apparent circumstances.
I don’t know exactly why (it was canceled),” Luque said, before commenting on the apparent video of Diaz. “I saw that video of him in the streets, and he didn’t look OK. And more than anything, I hope his family and he’s taking care of himself. I hope he recovers and goes back to his best state possible. ... I didn’t know if it was a recent video or not, but I kept thinking, if it’s recent, I hope he really seeks help to get out of the situation he’s in because Nick is a fighter I follow since before I was in the UFC. He has inspired me a lot in the past. ... You see his accomplishments, and see his state at 40 years of age, that’s not how I want to see any fighter.
This sport is very tough and we dedicate so many years to be able to make a living off this, and to see him in that situation, at his age… We don’t know what he’s going to do from now on, if he’s going to recover, if he’s going to be able to fight again, maybe open a gym and teach, whatever, but we hope for the best," Luque continued. "It’s very sad to see him at that stage, because I don’t want that for anyone, much less a man that has inspired so many.
While fight fans wish the best for Diaz, a big opportunity has opened up for Gorimbo.
The Zimbabwean gained prominence when his inspirational story was noticed by Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, who subsequently bought the fighter a house in Miami.
That came after Gorimbo's first UFC win, and "The Answer" has since had his hand raised in three straight fights this year to put him on the brink of a number next to his name at 170 pounds.