Longtime coach Cesar Gracie has revealed that he is not involved in Nick Diaz’s upcoming camp for his return to the UFC. Diaz (26-10 MMA, 7-7 UFC) is set to take on Vicente Luque (22-10-1 MMA, 15-6 UFC) on August 3rd at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi.
The 40-year-old Diaz hasn’t competed since his TKO loss to Robbie Lawler at UFC 266 in September 2021, which marked his first in over six years. Gracie, who has been a long-standing figure in Diaz’s corner, expressed his reservations about the matchup against Luque.
“I’m really not involved in that fight,” Gracie told Submission Radio. He went on to state that he would have preferred if Diaz faced a different opponent, indicating his lack of enthusiasm for the upcoming bout.
Diaz’s return to the octagon has been eagerly anticipated by fans, but it seems that the dynamics within his training camp have shifted. Gracie’s absence from the preparations for this fight raises questions about the state of their collaboration and the direction Diaz’s career is taking.
The matchup against Luque, a formidable welterweight contender, presents a significant challenge for Diaz. Luque, who has a record of 22 wins, 10 losses, and 1 draw, is known for his aggressive and relentless style, which could pose a significant threat to the veteran Diaz.
This may not be bad news – Cesar was previously attached to a controversy around Diaz’ return against Lawler.
riel Helwani is sharing behind the scenes details about Nick Diaz changing management teams. Helwani explained on his podcast with the Ringer that Cesar Gracie is likely to be the main culprit for that strange final performance of Diaz we witnessed last year.
The conversation started with a guest asking Helwani about Cesar Gracie standing up Helwani in recent history and what that was about.
“Okay, so this is a story. Last couple of years, Nick teamed up with this guy named Kevin MuBenga who has no ties to anyone in the fight game, but they somehow met each other. ”
Helwani went on to reveal infamous 2019 interview with Diaz was arranged by AJ Agazarm at UFC 244 Masvidal vs Diaz.
“So, UFC 244, Masvidal Diaz, Diaz loses. I then start talking with AJ Agazarm, who’s with Nick, about doing an interview with Nick. Nick wants to speak. He wants to break his silence at this point. He hadn’t done an interview in five years, right?”
Helwani explained how he then met Diaz, his new manager Kevin Mubenga and Agazarm and arranged for the interview. Mubenga kept in touch with Helwani afterwards. Fast forward to 2020.
“Kevin got him in great shape. Like if you saw those pictures, remember, he was on Instagram stuff like he had a crazy six pack. Got him in great shape? “
“Well, what I was told was like, late summer, this past summer. Basically what I was told was this. Cesar (Gracie) showed up, he was training in LA and he’s like: ‘You’re coming, I’m taking over this camp, and you’re coming back with me’. And Nick went.”
“And pretty much dropped Kevin and everything. And – we saw – now I don’t know if he’s to blame, this that you saw the shape that Nick was in. And there’s a lot of hard feelings about that because those guys felt like they had a Nick on the path. And then something happened and this old figure comes back and you know takes them away and you see how the fight ended up.”
” And so the week of the fight I’m being told like Kevin’s out and I only find out about it the week of the fight Kevin’s out, Cesar is in. This and that. Kevin’s calling me, no show, this that blah blah blah want to tell the truth of and and then you know, he’s he’s -he stood me up.”
“So there’s something there. There’s something that happened. And it was just kind of fascinating to me that this old figure from his past, who by the way, if you go to that story that I wrote in first person after he was suspended for five years, about you know his past that he gave me this incredible story…”
It’s also worth noting that Diaz underwent a neck surgery in 2022 in which he had two discs replaced.
