Vicente Luque

Background Luque was born in Westwood, New Jersey, on November 27, 1991, to a Colombian-born 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.

Mixed martial arts career 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 2015 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.

2016 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.

2017 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 119. After knocking Price down, Luque won the fight by submission via D'Arce choke midway through the second round.

2018 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.

2019 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.

2020 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 173. 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.

2021 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.

2022 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.

2023 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.

2024 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 former WEC and Strikeforce Welterweight Champion Nick Diaz on August 3, 2024 at UFC on ABC 7. However, due to travel issues, the bout was postponed and was re-scheduled to take place on December 7, 2024 at UFC 310. In turn, Diaz withdrew from the bout for unknown reasons and was replaced by Themba Gorimbo. Luque won the fight via an anaconda choke submission under one minute into the first round. This fight earned him another Performance of the Night award.

2025 Luque faced Kevin Holland on June 7, 2025 at UFC 316. He lost the fight via a D'Arce choke submission in the second round.

Luque was scheduled to face Santiago Ponzinibbio on October 11, 2025, at UFC Fight Night 261. However, Ponzinibbio was forced to pull out from the event due to injury, and was replaced by Joel Álvarez. Luque lost the fight by unanimous decision.

2026 Returning to the middleweight division, Luque was scheduled to face Kyle Daukaus on April 11, 2026 at UFC 327. However, Daukaus withdrew after being re‑scheduled for the UFC Freedom 250 event in June and was replaced by former interim UFC Middleweight Championship challenger Kelvin Gastelum. Luque won the fight via an anaconda choke submission in the first round.

Luque faced Tresean Gore on August 15, 2026, at UFC 330. He lost the fight by unanimous decision.

Personal life Luque and his wife Carol have a son.

Championships and accomplishments Ultimate Fighting Championship Performance of the Night (Five times) Tied (Makwan Amirkhani & Charles Oliveira) for most anaconda choke submission wins in UFC history (3) Second most finishes in UFC Welterweight division history (14) (behind Matt Brown) Fourth most first-round finishes in UFC history (10) Tied (Josh Koscheck) for fifth most bouts in UFC Welterweight division history (24) Tied (Demian Maia & Chris Lytle) for second most submissions in UFC Welterweight division history (6) Tied (Kamaru Usman) for fourth most wins in UFC Welterweight division history (16) (vs. Themba Gorimbo) UFC Honors Awards 2021: Fan's Choice Submission of the Year Nominee UFC.com Awards 2019: Ranked #5 Fight of the Year 2020: Ranked #10 Fight of the Year 2021: Ranked #3 Submission of the Year & Ranked #6 Submission of the Year

MMA Junkie 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 CBS Sports 2019 #3 Ranked UFC Fight of the Year

Mixed martial arts record Loss

Tresean Gore Decision (unanimous) UFC 330

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States Win

Kelvin Gastelum Submission (anaconda choke) UFC 327

Miami, Florida, United States Loss

Joel Álvarez Decision (unanimous) UFC Fight Night: Oliveira vs. Gamrot

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Loss

Kevin Holland Submission (anaconda choke) UFC 316

Newark, New Jersey, United States Win

Themba Gorimbo Technical Submission (anaconda choke) UFC 310

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Loss

Joaquin Buckley TKO (punches) UFC on ESPN: Blanchfield vs. Fiorot

Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States Win

Rafael dos Anjos Decision (unanimous) UFC on ESPN: Luque vs. dos Anjos

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States

Geoff Neal KO (punches) UFC on ESPN: Santos vs. Hill

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Loss

Belal Muhammad Decision (unanimous) UFC on ESPN: Luque vs. Muhammad 2

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Win

Michael Chiesa Submission (brabo choke) UFC 265

Houston, Texas, United States Win

Tyron Woodley Submission (brabo choke) UFC 260

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Win

Randy Brown KO (knee and punches) UFC Fight Night: Brunson vs. Shahbazyan

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Win

Niko Price TKO (doctor stoppage) UFC 249

Jacksonville, Florida, United States Loss

Stephen Thompson Decision (unanimous) UFC 244

New York City, New York, United States Win

Mike Perry Decision (split) UFC Fight Night: Shevchenko vs. Carmouche 2

Montevideo, Uruguay Win

Derrick Krantz TKO (punches) UFC Fight Night: dos Anjos vs. Lee

Rochester, New York, United States Win

Bryan Barberena TKO (knees and punches) UFC on ESPN: Ngannou vs. Velasquez

Phoenix, Arizona, United States Win

Jalin Turner KO (punches) UFC 229

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Win

Chad Laprise KO (punches) UFC Fight Night: Maia vs. Usman

Santiago, Chile Win

Niko Price Submission (brabo choke) UFC Fight Night: Brunson vs. Machida

São Paulo, Brazil Loss

Leon Edwards Decision (unanimous) UFC Fight Night: Manuwa vs. Anderson

London, England Win

Belal Muhammad KO (punches) UFC 205

New York City, New York, United States Win

Héctor Urbina KO (punch) UFC Fight Night: Cyborg vs. Länsberg

Brasília, Brazil Win

Álvaro Herrera Submission (brabo choke) UFC Fight Night: dos Anjos vs. Alvarez

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Win

Hayder Hassan Technical Submission (anaconda choke) UFC on Fox: dos Anjos vs. Cowboy 2

Orlando, Florida, United States Loss

Michael Graves Decision (unanimous) The Ultimate Fighter: American Top Team vs. Blackzilians Finale

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Win

Paulistenio Rocha Decision (unanimous) Açaí do Japa Fight 1

Brasília, Brazil Loss

Carlos Alexandre Pereira Submission (arm-triangle choke) SMASH Fight 2

Curitiba, Brazil Win

Marcelo Lisboa TKO (punches) Capital Fight 5

Brasília, Brazil Win

Yuri Moura Submission (anaconda choke) Imperium MMA Pro 2

Salvador, Brazil Loss

Alfredo Souza Decision (split) Champion Fights 1

Salvador, Brazil Win

Thiago Santos TKO (punches) Spartan MMA 2012

São Luís, Brazil Win

Darlan Almeida Submission (arm-triangle choke) Demo Fight 6

Salvador, Brazil Loss

Marcos Antonio Santana Decision (unanimous) Jungle Fight 27

Brasília, Brazil Draw

Rodrigo Medeiros Draw (unanimous) Shooto Brazil 18

Brasília, Brazil Loss

Felipe Portela Submission (triangle armbar) Capital Fight 2

Brasília, Brazil Win

Pedro Borges Dos Santos Submission (guillotine choke) The Gladiators 2

Guará, Brazil Win

Andre Playboy TKO (punches) Fight Club 300

Brasília, Brazil Loss

Hayder Hassan Decision (split)

(airdate)

Coconut Creek, Florida, United States

Win

Nathan Coy Submission (anaconda choke) (airdate)

Boca Raton, Florida, United States