UFC president Dana White announced the main card for UFC Abu Dhabi on August 3, and it features the return of a fan-favorite.

The card will be headlined by a number-one contender fight between bantamweights Cory Sandhagen and Umar Nurmagomedov. The co-main event will feature the return of veteran welterweight Nick Diaz against Vicente Luque.

danawhite @danawhite

The main card for <a href="">#UFCAbuDhabi</a> is set!!!<a href="">@VisitAbuDhabi</a> | <a href="">@InAbuDhabi</a> | <a href="">#InAbuDhabi</a> <a href="">

MMA Fighting @MMAFighting

Ariel Helwani lists the names Nick Diaz requested before landing on Vicente Luque:<br><br>- Georges St-Pierre <br>- Colby Covington<br>- Michael 'Venom' Page<br>- Kevin Holland <br><br>▶️ <a href=""> <a href="">#TheMMAHour</a> <a href="">

There will be other exciting fights on the rest of the main card. Former bantamweight title challenger Marlon "Chito" Vera will be taking on former flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo, who is undefeated since moving up to 135 pounds. There will also be an intriguing strawweight matchup between Mackenzie Dern and Loopy Godinez. The card will be opened by a welterweight matchup between Michael Chiesa and Tony Ferguson. White noted that this could be the final fight of Ferguson's legendary career.

Diaz will be fighting for the first time since his third-round TKO loss to Robbie Lawler at UFC 266 in September 2021. That fight was his first appearance in the Octagon since 2015. The former Strikeforce and WEC welterweight champion will be 41 years old when he faces Luque, who is 32 years old and known for his exciting fighting style.

The main event will determine the next contender for Sean O'Malley's bantamweight championship. O'Malley is expected to defend his title against Merab Dvalishvili later this year. Sandhagen is riding a three-fight win streak into the matchup against Nurmagomedov, who is the cousin of legendary lightweight Khabib Nurmagomedov and has an undefeated record of 17-0.

The August 3 card will be the UFC's 19th visit to Abu Dhabi and its first since UFC 294 this past October.