Daniel Cormier would moderately see Nick Diaz and Tony Ferguson battle one another at UFC on ABC 7 moderately than the separate matchups they booked.
As an alternative, Diaz (26-10 MMA, 7-7 UFC) will tackle Vicente Luque (22-10-1 MMA, 15-6 UFC) on the Aug. 3 card in Abu Dhabi, whereas Ferguson (25-10 MMA, 15-8 UFC) meets Michael Chiesa (16-7 MMA, 11-7 UFC) additionally at welterweight.
So with each Diaz and Ferguson competing in the identical occasion, Cormier thinks they need to have been matched up in opposition to one another. He sees each fighters in comparable phases of their careers, and worries about Diaz returning in opposition to Luque – particularly after seeing how he appeared in his TKO loss to Robbie Lawler in September 2021.
“I used to be very shocked,” Cormier advised ESPN. “After watching Nick Diaz the final time, I used to be like, ‘OK, he’s performed.’ However after I heard the information, I’m excited. I bought so excited as a result of it’s like, how usually can we get a chance to see a man that meant a lot to us? I watched him in Strikeforce, I watched him do all that. Now, the matchup, that’s slightly worrisome for me as a result of Robbie Lawler gave the impression to be on the similar stage in his profession as him.
“Vicente Luque shouldn’t be there. It is a far more harmful battle for Nick Diaz. I simply hope that he exhibits a greater type this time. Truthfully, man, pleasure as a result of I get to see a man that I’ve watched for a very long time. Confusion when it comes to who the matchup is. Tony Ferguson’s preventing on the cardboard, too. Put them collectively. That makes extra sense to me.”
No matter his considerations towards 40-year-old Diaz, Cormier hopes the Stockton star has yet another strong efficiency in him after virtually 4 years away.
“I’m not making comparisons, however I do acknowledge that an awesome champion all the time has one final evening,” Cormier mentioned. “I watched George Foreman at 47 years previous beat Michael Moorer in a battle that he wasn’t even supposed to have the ability to compete in, and he bought it performed. He was slightly previous, he was slightly off form, knocked him out. Received beat on, his toughness carried him.
“Each nice champion has one evening left. So, for me, it’s about seeing if Nick has yet another evening. He may not, and hey, give him the good thing about the doubt. If he goes out and appears like he did final time, let’s be performed with the Nick Diaz experiment. Shoot, man. This dude has earned a chance to go on the market yet another time and see if he can do one thing particular.”
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