Nate Diaz, right? Vicente Luque was shocked by Nick Diaz's return.

Fans weren't the only ones surprised to see Nick Diaz take the fight, his next opponent, Vicente Luque, was also caught off guard.

Longtime welterweight contender Luque (22-10-1 MMA, 15-6 UFC) is scheduled to fight Diaz (26-10 MMA, 7-7 UFC) in a five-round bout at UFC on ABC 7 at Etihad Arena on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi on Aug. 3. Diaz, now 40 years old and not having fought in nearly three years, was not in Luque's sights.

“I remember (manager) Ali (Abdelaziz) called me and said, 'The fight is set,'” Luque told MMA Junkie Radio. “I wanted the fight to happen at the end of July or early August, so he said August 3rd and it was going to be in Abu Dhabi.”

“I said, 'OK, that'll be another place I've never fought,' and he mentioned Nick Diaz's name. I said, 'Are you sure you're talking about Nick or are you talking about Nate?' And he said, 'No, Nick. Really Nick.' I said, 'Yeah, let's do it. It'll be a great fight.' In my opinion, it'll definitely be a contender for Fight of the Night.”

Diaz was one of the biggest stars in mixed martial arts in the 2010s. He's a former Strikeforce champion and UFC title challenger. He and his brother, Nate Diaz, have been involved in some of the sport's biggest fights.

For Luque, fighting Diaz would be a dream come true.

“Nick is someone I've always wanted to fight, even before I got to the UFC,” Luque said. “I watched a lot of Nick's fights in 2014, 2013, 2012, when he was starting out at the UFC. It was amazing to see him fight GSP, Carlos Condit, BJ Penn and even Anderson Silva. He's fought some legends and he's someone I've always wanted to fight.”

“At this point I wasn't going to fight him anymore, but now I get to fight him. So for me, I'm super excited to get this fight. He's not ranked, but it's Nick Diaz. Either way, it's a big fight. It's a good fight to get back on winning ways and set me up for some great fights after that.”

For more on the card, check out MMA Junkie's UFC on ABC 7 event hub.