Rivalries: Vicente Luque

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His reputation as one of the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s foremost bringers of violence already established, Vicente Luque now aims to become a true title contender in the welterweight division.

The Cerrado MMA standout will lock horns with former champion Tyron Woodley in the UFC 260 co-main event this Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Luque, 29, has rattled off eight victories across his past nine outings, emerging as one of the organization’s most consistent performers. He last appeared at UFC Fight Night 173, where he cut down Randy Brown with a knee strike and follow-up punches in the second round of their Aug. 1 pairing at 170 pounds. “The Silent Assassin” owns a stellar 12-3 record in the UFC.

As Luque prepares for his critical confrontation with Woodley, a look at some of the rivalries that have shaped his career:

Leon Edwards

The former British Association of Mixed Martial Arts champion leaned on kicks to the head and body, sharp punching combinations and tactical takedowns, as he claimed a unanimous decision over Luque as part of the UFC Fight Night 107 undercard on March 18, 2017 at the O2 Arena in London. Edwards swept the scorecards with matching 29-28 marks. Luque executed a pair of takedowns in the first round but failed to make meaningful headway elsewhere. Edwards backed “The Ultimate Fighter 21” semifinalist to the cage with a flying knee in the middle stanza, struck for a takedown of his own and set up shop in half guard, dropping short-range elbows and punches. He turned his attention to Luque’s body in Round 3, had him ducking for cover with hooks upstairs and cut off an attempted rally from the Brazilian with a late takedown.

Bryan Barberena

In a remarkable battle that saw more than 350 combine strikes land, Luque was the last man standing. The Brazilian withstood a furious onslaught from Barberena and put away the MMA Lab export with a pair of knee strikes and follow-up punches in the third round of their UFC on ESPN 1 welterweight feature on Feb. 17, 2019 at the Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix. Barberena succumbed to blows 4:54 into Round 3. The two welterweights threw caution to the wind for 14-plus breathtaking minutes, bringing the crowd to a boil in a worthy nominee for “Fight of the Year.” Luque connected on a career-best 163 significant strikes, paving his way to victory with sustained aggression. “I felt the fight was very close. I wasn’t sure I was taking it in the third round. I didn’t want to leave it to the judges,” he said. “He was a tough guy. I tried the rear-naked choke and [brabo choke] and he got out of them both. I knew I had to knock him out, so I got those knees in and got it done.”

Mike Perry

Luque continued his steady rise on the welterweight ladder in the UFC Fight Night 156 co-main event on Aug. 10, 2019 at Antel Arena in Montevideo, Uruguay, where he eked out a split decision over Perry across three grueling rounds at 170 pounds. All three cageside judges scored it 29-28: Eric Colon and Joseph Terrell for Luque, Guilherme Bravo for Perry. Neither man left the cage unscathed. Luque worked over the Floridian with surgical strikes, weathered volleys of power punches and zeroed in on the leg with kicks. Bleeding from cuts near both eyes, Perry trudged forward with little regard for his well-being. Even as a flush knee strike from Luque shattered his nose during one exchange, “Platinum Mike” kept on firing rights and lefts, upstairs and to the body. The Brazilian answered an attempted takedown from Perry with a guillotine choke in the third round, and despite the absence of a submission, he squeezed copious amounts of blood from his counterpart’s rearranged face.

Stephen Thompson

Thompson returned to form with a unanimous decision over Luque in an 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 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 built close to a 2-to-1 advantage (138-77) in significant strikes landed. A candid Luque admitted afterward that his 15-minute encounter with the top-flight contender exposed the holes that remained in his game.