Dana White announced the main card this morning for UFC Abu Dhabi on Aug. 3 at Etihad Arena. This show will feature a No. 1 contender fight in the bantamweight division, the return of Nick Diaz in a five-round co-main event and what will likely be the retirement scrap for Tony ‘El Cucuy’ Ferguson.

In the main event, Cory ‘The Sandman’ Sandhagen (17-4 MMA, 10-3 UFC) will take on 10th-ranked Uman Nurmagomedov to determine who gets the next crack at ‘Sugar’ Sean O’Malley’s 135-pound belt. The 32-year-old Sandhagen is riding a three-fight winning streak since losing a decision to Petr Yan for the interim bantamweight championship at UFC 267 on Oct. 30 of 2021.

The 28-year-old Nurmagomedov (17-0 MMA, 5-0 UFC) has produced three finishes and collected a pair of Performance of the Night bonuses since joining the promotion. The sambo wrestler from Dagestan is first cousins with the legendary former UFC champion, Khabib Nurmagomedov.

BetOnline opened Nurmagomedov as a -400 ‘chalk’ this morning, but that number was reduced to -200 less than an hour later. Since then, Nurmagomedov has been adjusted to -260, leaving Sandhagen as a +220 underdog.

In the co-main event, Nick Diaz (26-10-0-2 MMA, 7-7-0-1 UFC) will be back in the Octagon one day after his 41st birthday to take on 14th-ranked welterweight Vicente Luque. Diaz hasn’t tasted victory since a unanimous-decision win over B.J. Penn at UFC 137 on Oct. 29 of 2011.

The Stockton, CA., native has only fought once since facing Anderson Silva at UFC 183 on Jan. 31 of 2015 in a bout that was declared a no-contest after Silva tested positive for two performance-enhancing drugs. Diaz returned from a 6.5-year hiatus against Robbie Lawler at UFC 266 on Sept. 25 of 2021, losing via third-round TKO.

The 32-year-old Luque (22-10-1 MMA, 15-6 UFC) went 14-2 during a 16-fight stretch from December of 2015 to August of 2021. However, he’s currently mired in a 1-3 slide, including a second-round TKO loss to Joaquin Buckley in March.

DraftKings opened Luque as a -535 favorite with Diaz at +400 on the comeback.

There’s another crucial bantamweight contest on this card, as fourth-ranked Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera (23-9-1 MMA, 15-8 UFC) will go up against sixth-ranked Deiveson Figueiredo. Vera is in bounce-back mode after losing a UD to O’Malley at UFC 299 in March.

Figueiredo (23-3-1 MMA, 12-3-1 UFC), the 36-year-old former UFC flyweight champion, improved to 2-0 since moving up to the 135-pound loop by capturing a second-round submission win (rear-naked choke) over Cody Garbrandt at UFC 300.

DraftKings opened this bout as a pick ’em (-115 either way) last week, but Figueiredo is now listed as a -148 favorite. Vera is a +124 underdog.

The 40-year-old Ferguson (25-10 MMA, 15-8 UFC) is moving up to welterweight for only the second time in his storied career to square off against veteran Michael Chiesa. Ferguson, The Ultimate Fighter Season 13 winner who went 15-1 in his first 16 career Octagon appearances, is looking to end a seven-fight losing streak.

Chiesa (16-7 MMA, 11-7 UFC), 36, has lost three consecutive fights, including a first-round submission loss to Kevin Holland his last time out at UFC 291 last July. He won Season 15 of TUF with a first-round submission of Al Iaquinta back in 2012.

DraftKings opened Chiesa as a -455 ‘chalk,’ leaving Ferguson as a +350 underdog.

Finally, in a women’s strawweight scrap, seventh-ranked MacKenzie Dern will take on 10th-ranked Loopy Godinez, who saw her four-fight winning streak snapped in a UD loss to Virna Jandiroba at UFC Atlantic City in March.

Dern (13-5 MMA, 8-5 UFC) is mired in a 2-4 slump after dropping a UD to Amanda Lemos in the Fight of the Night at UFC 298 in February. The Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt has won six fight-night bonuses in her last 10 Octagon appearances.

The 30-year-old Godinez (12-4 MMA, 7-4 UFC) has won six of her last eight bouts and has never been finished.

DraftKings opened Godinez as a -148 favorite with Dern as a +124 underdog.