Tag: Vicente Luque

Vicente Luque outlasts Rafael dos Anjos in exhausting five found war – UFC Vegas 78 Highlights

Rafael dos AnjosVicente Luque snapped a two-fight losing skid on Saturday night, besting former lightweight world champion Rafael dos Anjos in the UFC Vegas 78 main event. Through five rounds of intense back-and-forth action, dos Anjos attempted to put his exquisite grappling game to work, but somewhat of a surprise turn, it was Luque who dominated the […]

Rafael dos Anjos

Vicente Luque snapped a two-fight losing skid on Saturday night, besting former lightweight world champion Rafael dos Anjos in the UFC Vegas 78 main event.

Through five rounds of intense back-and-forth action, dos Anjos attempted to put his exquisite grappling game to work, but somewhat of a surprise turn, it was Luque who dominated the bout, particularly in the clinch where his strength was on display throughout the 25-minute affair.

RDA appeared to hold an advantage on the feet when he opted to let his hands go, but dos Anjos only used the striking as a means to close the distance and initiate the clinch. That game plan continuously backfired as ‘The Silent Assassin’ was easily able to control the clinch and reverse position when needed. RDA began to show some urgency in the fifth round, but by then, Luque was in complete control and cruising toward an undeniable decision victory.

Official Result: Vicente Luque def. Rafael dos Anjos via unanimous decision (49-46, 48-47, 48-47).

With the victory, Luque moved to 15-5 inside the Octagon while his opponent, Rafael dos Anjos, fell to 21-13. RDA has now lost two of his last three while Luque has found the win column in five of his last seven scraps inside the Octagon.

Check Out Highlights From Rafael dos Anjos vs. Vicente Luque at UFC Vegas 78 Below:

Report – Rafael dos Anjos books UFC headliner in all-Brazilian return on July card

Rafael dos Anjos books UFC headliner against Vicente Luque in JulyFormer UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos is slated for a high-stakes welterweight matchup opposite top-ten-ranked welterweight contender Vicente Luque. First reported by MMA Fighting, both men are expected to make their first appearances of 2023 as part of a UFC Fight Night headliner on July 15. No other details regarding the event have been […]

Rafael dos Anjos books UFC headliner against Vicente Luque in July

Former UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos is slated for a high-stakes welterweight matchup opposite top-ten-ranked welterweight contender Vicente Luque.

First reported by MMA Fighting, both men are expected to make their first appearances of 2023 as part of a UFC Fight Night headliner on July 15. No other details regarding the event have been released by the promotion at this time. News of the matchup broke just hours after Rafael dos Anjos took to Twitter, confirming he had booked his ninth career main event with the promotion.

Currently ranked No. 9 in the lightweight division, the former titleholder is looking to gain some ground in the welterweight division after scoring a second-round submission against Bryan Barberena in December. Dos Anjos went 2-1 in 2022, securing a win over Renato Moicano while suffering a fifth-round knockout against fan-favorite Rafael Fiziev.

Rafael dos Anjos headlines opposite Vicente Luque

After dropping back-to-back bouts against Belal Muhammad and Geoff Neal last year, Vicente Luque is barely clinging onto his No. 10 ranking in the 170-pound division. Prior to the recent setbacks, the Brazilian knockout artist secured four-straight victories over Niko Price, Randy Brown, Tyron Woodley, and Michael Chiesa.

The UFC’s July 15 event is beginning to come together with four other matchups already announced for the summertime showcase. Those fights are as follows:

  • Walt Harris vs. Josh Parisian (heavyweight)
  • Azat Maksum vs. Tyson Nam (flyweight)
  • Alshee Evans-Smith vs. Ailin Perez (bantamweight)
  • Norma Dumont vs. Chelsea Chandler (featherweight)

Jack Della Maddalena believes a Vicente Luque matchup would be “one for the fans”

Jack Della Maddalena, Vicente LuqueUFC welterweight Jack Della Maddalena is interested in a fight with Vicente Luque. During an interview on The MMA Hour, Maddalena spoke about a potential scrap with Luque and how it would resonate with fans. He previously called for a fight with Luque during ESPN’s post-fight show after his UFC 284 win.  “I think it’ll […]

Jack Della Maddalena, Vicente Luque

UFC welterweight Jack Della Maddalena is interested in a fight with Vicente Luque.

During an interview on The MMA Hour, Maddalena spoke about a potential scrap with Luque and how it would resonate with fans. He previously called for a fight with Luque during ESPN’s post-fight show after his UFC 284 win. 

“I think it’ll make a cool fight. I think that’s one for the fans and I think the UFC would get behind that sort of a fight.” 

Luque is #9 in the welterweight rankings. He’s lost his last two fights to Geoff Neal and Belal Muhammad. He does have wins over Michael Chiesa, Tyron Woodley, Randy Brown, Niko Price, and Jalin Turner. 

Jack Della Maddalena Has Been On A Tear Since His UFC Debut

Maddalena is unbeaten in the UFC. He last secured a first-round submission win over Randy Brown on Feb.12 in his hometown of Perth, Australia. The finish earned him a $50,000 performance of the night bonus. After the win, he became the #14 ranked welterweight in the UFC. Maddalena made his first appearance on Dana White’s Contender Series in September 2021, where he earned a UFC contract. Since then, he’s finished his last four fights in the first round. He also went 3-0 during his rookie year in 2022. 

The 26-year-old Maddalena prefers to stay active in 2023. He said May might be the month for his return and second fight of the year. 

“I think at least three [fights] would be the goal. I was pretty happy with the schedule last year with three fights. I fight at the start of the year, mid-year, and then towards November. I can probably stick to that same sort of schedule and keep it rolling.”

Vicente Luque vs. Nick Diaz Off UFC Fight Night Abu Dhabi Card, Shara ‘Bullet’ Magomedov Returns In New Co-Main Event

Those who were hoping to see another Nick Diaz appearance in the Octagon really soon will be disappointed. Per the broadcast of Saturday’s UFC Fight Night, a “travel issue” has left Diaz unable to compete in his scheduled co-main event bout with Vicente Luque on Aug. 3, when the promotion holds a UFC Fight Night […]

Continue Reading Vicente Luque vs. Nick Diaz Off UFC Fight Night Abu Dhabi Card, Shara ‘Bullet’ Magomedov Returns In New Co-Main Event at MMA News.

Those who were hoping to see another Nick Diaz appearance in the Octagon really soon will be disappointed.

Per the broadcast of Saturday’s UFC Fight Night, a “travel issue” has left Diaz unable to compete in his scheduled co-main event bout with Vicente Luque on Aug. 3, when the promotion holds a UFC Fight Night card at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi.

It was announced that undefeated middleweight prospect Sharabutdin “Bullet” Magomedov will now be featured in the new co-main event, taking on Michal Oleksiejczuk.

Diaz’s last UFC appearance came at UFC 266 in September 2021, losing to Robbie Lawler. That marked the Stockton star’s first MMA fight since his January 2015 clash with Anderson Silva.

Luque, meanwhile, has lost three of his last four, most recently being stopped by Joaquin Buckley at UFC Fight Night Atlantic City.

The UFC is expected to reschedule Luque vs. Diaz for an event at a late date.

Luque & Diaz Out, Magomedov In For UFC Fight Night Abu Dhabi

Magomedov competed just last month at UFC Fight Night Saudi Arabia, scoring a third-round finish of Antonio Trócoli. He made his Octagon debut in Abu Dhabi last year, defeating Bruno Silva at UFC 294.

Oleksiejczuk, on the other hand, has lost three of his last four, most recently being submitted by Kevin Holland at UFC 302 last month in Newark.

UFC Fight Night Abu Dhabi on August 3 will be headlined by Cory Sandhagen vs. Umar Nurmagomedov. It is the first of two events to take place in Abu Dhabi this year, with UFC 308 to be held in the same location on October 26.

Continue Reading Vicente Luque vs. Nick Diaz Off UFC Fight Night Abu Dhabi Card, Shara ‘Bullet’ Magomedov Returns In New Co-Main Event at MMA News.

Nick Diaz’s Former Coach Disagrees With Decision To Accept Vicente Luque Fight: ‘If I Was Advising Nick…’

Fight fans were certainly caught off guard to see an announcement seemingly drop out of nowhere regarding Nick Diaz’s UFC return. His last outing against Robbie Lawler three years ago also came as a shock, but given the way that fight ended and the lack of movement since then, many would have assumed that we […]

Continue Reading Nick Diaz’s Former Coach Disagrees With Decision To Accept Vicente Luque Fight: ‘If I Was Advising Nick…’ at MMA News.

Fight fans were certainly caught off guard to see an announcement seemingly drop out of nowhere regarding Nick Diaz’s UFC return.

His last outing against Robbie Lawler three years ago also came as a shock, but given the way that fight ended and the lack of movement since then, many would have assumed that we wouldn’t see Diaz back inside the Octagon.

The Stockton native is now set to take on #14-ranked welterweight contender Vicente Luque in the co-main event of the UFC’s return to Abu Dhabi on August 3.

However, Diaz’s former coach has some worrying comments about the fight that aren’t going to go down well with fans who are excited to see him back…

Cesar Gracie Expresses Concern Over Nick Diaz’s Return Against Vicente Luque

In a recent interview with Submission Radio, Cesar Gracie gave his thoughts on the Octagon return of Diaz.

He made it clear throughout that he isn’t involved in this fight, so while he is still in constant communication with Diaz, he doesn’t know much about it.

Nevertheless, Gracie doesn’t think that coming back against a top 15 competitor in Abu Dhabi is the right move for his former fighter considering where he is at in his career.

“I’m really not that involved in that fight, gonna be perfectly honest with you. That wasn’t my idea, it wouldn’t have been the fight that I would’ve — like, if I was advising Nick, I wouldn’t have advised him to do that fight.

“It’s in Abu Dhabi, I wouldn’t advise to go fight overseas at this point. Luque is a very tough guy, Nick is a tough guy but it just doesn’t make that much sense for me. Where Nick is at in his career and I don’t know, it’s not the fight that I would’ve made.”

At 40 years old, Diaz hasn’t had his hand raised inside the cage since his win over BJ Penn at UFC 137, a staggering 13 years ago.

Gracie also expressed some concerns over whether this fight actually happens, stating once again that everything is a little bit up in the air right now, at least on his end.

“I don’t even know what’s going on with that fight, to be honest with you. I spoke to Nick today and, yeah, I don’t have any plans for that fight to be honest with you, I don’t know what’s going to happen with that one at all.”

Continue Reading Nick Diaz’s Former Coach Disagrees With Decision To Accept Vicente Luque Fight: ‘If I Was Advising Nick…’ at MMA News.

UFC Vegas 59 Performance Bonuses

UFC Vegas 59 may have lost a few bouts during fight week, but the 10 fights that went ahead as scheduled delivered an action-packed card that didn’t include a single decision. The UFC had plenty of options to choose from for the night’s bes…

UFC Vegas 59 may have lost a few bouts during fight week, but the 10 fights that went ahead as scheduled delivered an action-packed card that didn’t include a single decision. The UFC had plenty of options to choose from for the night’s best performances. The promotion elected to go with a trio of Performance…

Continue Reading UFC Vegas 59 Performance Bonuses at MMA News.