Vicente Luque

Vicente Luque (born November 27, 1991) is a Brazilian and American professional mixed martial artist. Luque currently competes in the welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of June 11, 2024, he is #13 in the UFC welterweight rankings.

Background
Luque was born in Westwood, New Jersey, on November 27, 1991, to a Brazilian mother and a Chilean father. His maternal grandmother was a diplomat, and as a result, his mother was mostly raised in Chile, where she met and married his father before relocating to the United States. Luque was raised trilingual, speaking Portuguese, Spanish and English. Luque began training in various forms of martial arts as a youngster, initially karate at the age of three. When Vicente was six, his parents separated and he moved to Brazil with his mom, where he continued training karate until the age of ten. After a spell with soccer, he started training in Muay Thai and Brazilian jiu-jitsu as a teenager before transitioning to mixed martial arts in 2008. In 2021, he was promoted to black belt in both Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Luta Livre on the same day.

Early career
Luque made his professional mixed martial arts debut in June 2009. He compiled a record of 7–4–1, competing for various regional promotions in Brazil before trying out for The Ultimate Fighter in early 2014.

The Ultimate Fighter
In February 2015, it was announced that Luque was one of the fighters selected to be on The Ultimate Fighter: American Top Team vs. Blackzilians.

In his first fight on the show, Luque faced Nathan Coy. He won the fight by submission in the second round.

In the semifinals, Luque faced off against Hayder Hassan. He lost the fight via split decision.

Ultimate Fighting Championship
Luque made his official debut for the promotion on July 12, 2015, at The Ultimate Fighter 21 Finale, where he faced fellow castmate Michael Graves. He lost the fight via unanimous decision.

Luque next faced Hayder Hassan in a rematch on December 19, 2015, at UFC on Fox 17. He won the fight by submission in the first round and was awarded a Performance of the Night bonus.

Luque faced Álvaro Herrera on July 7, 2016, at UFC Fight Night 90. He won the fight via submission in the second round.

Luque faced Héctor Urbina on September 24, 2016, at UFC Fight Night 95. Luque won the fight via first-round knockout, thereby earning his second Performance of the Night bonus.

Luque returned to face Belal Muhammad on November 12, 2016, at UFC 205. He won the fight via knockout in the first round.

Luque faced Leon Edwards on March 18, 2017, at UFC Fight Night 107. He lost the fight by unanimous decision.

Luque faced Niko Price, replacing an injured Luan Chagas on 11 day notice, on October 28, 2017, at UFC Fight Night: Machida vs. Brunson. After knocking Price down, Luque won the fight by submission via D’Arce choke midway through the second round.

Luque faced Chad Laprise on May 19, 2018, at UFC Fight Night 129. He won the fight via knockout in the first round.

Luque faced promotional newcomer Jalin Turner on October 6, 2018, at UFC 229. He won the fight via knockout in the first round.

Luque faced Bryan Barberena on February 17, 2019, at UFC on ESPN 1. After two competitive rounds that saw both men rock each other, Luque won the fight by TKO at the end of the third round after knocking Barberena down with a knee and finishing with punches. With this win, he became the first man to give Barberena his first stoppage loss by TKO. This fight earned him the Fight of the Night award.

Luque was expected to face Neil Magny on May 18, 2019, at UFC Fight Night 152. However, it was reported on May 13, 2019, that Magny pulled out of the bout due to testing positive for Di-Hydroxy-LGD-4033, and he was replaced by newcomer Derrick Krantz. Luque won the fight via technical knockout in round one.

Luque faced Mike Perry on August 10, 2019, at UFC on ESPN+ 14. He won the fight via split decision. This fight earned him the Fight of the Night award.

Luque faced Stephen Thompson on November 2, 2019, at UFC 244. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. This fight earned him the Fight of the Night award.

Luque was scheduled to face Randy Brown on April 11, 2020, at UFC Fight Night: Overeem vs. Harris. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the event was eventually postponed.

In a quick turnaround, Luque was scheduled to face Niko Price in a rematch on April 18, 2020, at UFC 249. However, on April 9, Dana White, the president of UFC announced that this event was postponed and the bout eventually took place on May 9, 2020. He won the fight via technical knockout due to doctor stoppage in round three.

The bout with Randy Brown was rescheduled and took place on August 1, 2020, at UFC Fight Night: Brunson vs. Shahbazyan. Utilizing low kicks and dropping Brown multiple times, Luque eventually won the fight via knockout in the second round. This win earned him the Performance of the Night award.

Luque faced Tyron Woodley on March 27, 2021, at UFC 260. After hurting Woodley multiple times on the feet, Luque won the fight via D'Arce choke submission in round one. This fight earned him the Fight of the Night  award.

Luque faced Michael Chiesa on August 7, 2021, at UFC 265. He won the fight via D'Arce choke submission in round one. This fight earned him the  Performance of the Night award.

Luque was the emergency backup for the UFC Welterweight Championship rematch between Kamaru Usman and Colby Covington in the main event of UFC 268. However, Luque weighed in at 172.2 pounds, 2.2 pounds over the welterweight limit. Usman and Covington both made weight and the championship bout proceeded as scheduled.

Luque faced Belal Muhammad in a rematch on April 16, 2022, at UFC on ESPN 34. He lost the fight via unanimous decision.

Luque faced Geoff Neal on August 6, 2022, at UFC on ESPN 40. He lost the fight via knockout in round three.

Luque was scheduled to face Rafael dos Anjos  on July 15, 2023, at UFC on ESPN 49. However, the pair was moved to instead fight on August 12, 2023, at UFC on ESPN: Luque vs. dos Anjos for unknown reasons. Luque won the fight via unanimous decision.

Luque was scheduled to face Ian Machado Garry on December 16, 2023, at UFC 296. However, the bout was scrapped after Garry withdrew due to contracting pneumonia the week of the event.

Luque was scheduled to face Sean Brady on March 30, 2024, at UFC on ESPN 54. However, Brady indicated he never signed a bout agreement due to dealing with an injury, and was replaced by Joaquin Buckley. Luque lost the fight via technical knockout in round two.

Luque was scheduled to face Nick Diaz on August 3, 2024 at UFC on ABC 7. However, due to travel issues, the bout has been postponed to a later date.

Personal life
Luque and his wife Carol have a son.

Championships and accomplishments

 * Ultimate Fighting Championship
 * Performance of the Night (Four times) vs. Hayder Hassan, Héctor Urbina, Randy Brown and Michael Chiesa
 * Fight of the Night (Four times) vs. Bryan Barberena, Mike Perry, Stephen Thompson and Tyron Woodley
 * Tied (Stephen Thompson) for third most Post-Fight bonuses in UFC Welterweight division history (8)
 * Tied (Thiago Alves & Li Jingliang) for second most knockouts in UFC Welterweight division history (8)
 * Second most finishes in UFC Welterweight division history (13)
 * MMAJunkie.com
 * 2019 February Fight of the Month vs. Bryan Barberena
 * 2020 May Fight of the Month vs. Niko Price
 * 2021 March Fight of the Month vs. Tyron Woodley
 * 2021 August Submission of the Month vs. Michael Chiesa