Preview: Luque vs. Neal
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.