The welterweight bout between Vicente Luque and Themba Gorimbo has been confirmed for UFC 310: Pantoja vs Asakura. Gorimbo replaces Nick Diaz, who was expected to make his return in a rescheduled bout. The event takes place at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on December 7. The promotion made the announcement via a post on X on Wednesday.
Luque (22-10-1) of Westwood, New Jersey is coming off a defeat via second-round TKO against Joaquin Buckley in March. Gorimbo (14-4) of Zimbabwe defeated Niko Price by unanimous decision in October, securing his fourth win in a row.
Diaz (26-10, 2 NC) was expected to face Luque at the UFC event in Abu Dhabi in August, but the fight was canceled due to travel issues. The rescheduled matchup for UFC 310 was also canceled after the 41-year-old Stockton native withdrew for an undisclosed reason.
In addition, the promotion also confirmed two bouts for the UFC Fight Night card on January 11 at UFC Apex in Las Vegas, also known as UFC Vegas 101, via a post on X. Cesar Almeida goes up against Abdul Razak Alhassan at middleweight, while Christian Rodriguez takes on Austin Bashi at featherweight.
Almeida (6-1) of Brazil earned a UD against Ihor Potieria in October. Ghana’s Alhassan (12-6, 1 NC) faced Cody Brundage in July in a bout that was ruled a No Contest due to an accidental elbow to the back of the head, leaving Brundage unable to continue.
Rodriguez (11-2) of Milwaukee, Wisconsin lost his previous bout in July by submission in the first round to Julian Erosa. Unbeaten Bashi (13-0) of West Bloomfield Township, Michigan defeated Dorian Ramos via rear-naked choke at Dana White’s Contender Series in September.