5 Defining Moments: Vicente Luque

Vicente Luque has to be getting tired of the interruptions.

The Brazilian jiu-jitsu and luta livre black belt will attempt to bounce back from his latest hiccup when he squares off with Geoff Neal in the UFC on ESPN 40 co-headliner this Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Luque, 30, has pieced together three different winning streaks in the Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight division, only to have his progress stalled by an untimely setback. He last appeared at UFC on ESPN 34, where he wound up on the wrong side of a unanimous decision in his April 16 rematch with Belal Muhammad.

As Luque approaches his forthcoming battle with Neal at 170 pounds, a look at five moments that have come to define him:

1. Rude Welcome

American Top Team’s Michael Graves spoiled Luque’s promotional debut and claimed a unanimous decision in their three-round welterweight feature at “The Ultimate Fighter 21” Finale on July 12, 2015 in Las Vegas. All three judges saw it 29-28 for Graves, who neutralized his counterpart in the clinch and secured takedowns in all three rounds, consolidating those efforts with punches and elbows from top position. Luque slowed the Ohio native’s progress with a series of chokes in Round 3, but his work did not produce the finish he needed. Graves escaped to his feet before a crowd of 4,844 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, delivered a late takedown and smashed the Jungle Fight alum with an elbow in the closing seconds.

2. Slithering Lullaby

The Cerrado MMA and Sanford MMA export put Hayder Hassan to sleep with a first-round anaconda choke as part of the UFC on Fox 17 undercard on Dec. 19, 2015 at the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida. Hassan lost consciousness 2:13 into Round 1. Luque pressured his adversary from the start, backing him toward the fence with punches upstairs and kicks to the legs. He stung Hassan with an overhand right and bit down on the choke during a subsequent takedown attempt from the American Top Team rep. He then sat into the anaconda, rolled into top position and tightened his squeeze until it was over. The performance earned Luque the first of his eight post-fight bonuses in the UFC.

3. Back to the Drawing Board

Stephen Thompson exposed a not-quite-ready-for-primetime Luque in their action-packed UFC 244 welterweight showcase on Nov. 2, 2019 at Madison Square Garden in New York, where the South Carolina-based karateka darted in and out with punching combinations, countered effectively and outmaneuvered the resilient New Jersey-born Brazilian across three entertaining rounds. Scores were 30-26, 30-26 and 29-27, all for Thompson. “Wonderboy” overcame a slow start, floored Luque with a straight left on the counter in the third round and piled up points with a variety of kicks to the head, body, legs and arms. By the time it was over, Thompson had landed nearly twice as many significant strikes (138-77) as Luque and dropped “The Silent Assassin” a rung or two on the welterweight ladder.

4. Fists of Fury

Luque buried Niko Price under an avalanche of offense, prompting a doctor stoppage in the third round of their UFC 249 prelim on May 9, 2020 at Vystar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida. His right eye swollen shut, a battered and bloodied Price was deemed unfit to continue 3:37 into Round 3. Luque—who had submitted “The Hybrid” with a brabo choke at UFC Fight Night 119 in their first pairing with one another a little more than two years earlier—chopped away with leg kicks and effective counters, even has his opponent tested his chin with return fire. He decked Price with a counter left hook in the third round, pounced with punches and allowed him to stand, at which point referee Jason Herzog called in the cageside physician to have a look. Herzog waved it off soon after.

5. A Contender Emerges

Former welterweight champion Tyron Woodley succumbed to a brabo choke from Luque in the first round of their UFC 260 co-main event on March 27, 2021 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Submitted for the first time as a professional, “The Chosen One” raised the white flag 3:56 into Round 1 before briefly appearing to lose consciousness. Luque did not escape unscathed. Woodley stormed out of the gate with some rediscovered aggression and buzzed the tower with a pair of overhand rights, the Brazilian’s legs seeming to buckle beneath him. Luque withstood his brush with potential disaster and turned the tide in an instant with a counter right hand of his own. A badly staggered Woodley stumbled across the cage but found no reprieve. Luque flurried with a variety of strikes, drove him to the canvas and locked in the choke. Woodley struggled to free himself, only to find all avenues of escape cut off.