The upper-tier welterweights, both of them currently ranked in the Top 5 by the Ultimate Fighting Championship, will renew acquaintances when their rematch headlines UFC on ESPN 34 this Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Luque needed just 79 seconds to punch out Muhammad at UFC 205 in 2016. They have since gone their separate ways, only to have their paths converge yet again. Luque enters the cage on the strength of a four-fight winning streak. He last fought at UFC 265, where he submitted Michael Chiesa with a brabo choke in the first round of their Aug. 7 pairing. Muhammad, meanwhile, has rattled off back-to-back victories. He last competed on Dec. 18, when he took a unanimous decision from Stephen Thompson at UFC Fight Night 199.
As Luque and Muhammad prepare to take aim at one another once more, a look at some of the numbers that have accompanied them to this point:
30: Years of age for Luque, who was born on Nov. 27, 1991 in Westwood, New Jersey.
8: Luque wins by submission, accounting for 38% of his career total (21). His methods of choice: four brabo chokes, two anaconda chokes, one arm-triangle choke and one guillotine choke. Luque holds 11 other wins by knockout or technical knockout and two more by decision.
400,000: Dollars in post-fight bonus money banked by Luque across his 17 assignments inside the Octagon. He has been awarded “Fight of the Night” on four occasions and “Performance of the Night” on four others.
10: Knockdowns landed by Luque as a UFC welterweight, tying him with Thompson, Matt Brown, Tyron Woodley and Kamaru Usman for third on the promotion’s all-time list at 170 pounds. Only Thiago Alves (13) and Jake Ellenberger (11) have been credited with more.
128: Combined victories between the seven men—Thompson, Leon Edwards, Michael Graves, Carlos Alexandre Pereira, Alfredo Souza, Marcos Antonio Santana and Felipe Portela—who have beaten Luque. They sport a cumulative .731 winning percentage (128-42-5).
33: Years of age for Muhammad, who was born in Chicago on July 9, 1988.
15: Muhammad victories by decision, accounting for 75% of his career total (12). Those he has outpointed in the UFC: Thompson, Demian Maia, Dhiego Lima, Lyman Good, Curtis Millender, Chance Rencountre, Tim Means, Jordan Mein and Randy Brown. Muhammad owns four other victories by knockout or technical knockout and one more by submission.
61: Rounds completed by Muhammad as a professional mixed martial artist. He has gone the distance in 17 different appearances and carries a 15-2 record in those bouts.
129: Significant strikes landed by Muhammad in his unanimous decision over Lima at UFC 258 on Feb. 13, 2021. It established a personal benchmark for the Roufusport product that stands to this day.
.731: Cumulative winning percentage between the three men—Luque, Geoff Neal and Alan Jouban—who have defeated Muhammad. They boast a combined record of 52-18-1.