Vicente Luque

Vicente Catta Preta Luque (born November 27, 1991) is an American-born Brazilian professional mixed martial artist. Luque currently competes in the welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of August 9, 2021, he is #4 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.

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

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.

Vicente is scheduled to face Belal Muhammad in a rematch on April 16, 2022 at UFC Fight Night 206.

Personal life

Vicente and his wife Carol have a son, Bento (born 2021).