Vicente Luque

Overview

Fifteen finishes in 17 UFC wins, ten of them in the first round, and he has still lost nine times. Vicente Luque, "The Silent Assassin," is a Middleweight out of Blackzilians who built his name at Welterweight on getting people out early.

His UFC record is 17-9, within a 24-13-1 professional record across all promotions. Two of those 17 wins went to a decision. The other 15 ended inside the distance, and the losses tell the opposite story: six of the nine went the distance.

He carries a one-fight losing streak into his next bout.

UFC Career

Luque debuted in July 2015 at The Ultimate Fighter: American Top Team vs. Blackzilians Finale and lost a unanimous decision to Michael Graves. The reset came fast. He submitted Hayder Hassan in the first round that December, then took Alvaro Herrera Mendoza by submission in the second. Knockouts of Hector Urbina and Belal Muhammad followed. A decision loss to Leon Edwards in March 2017 interrupted the run.

The real surge came from 2017 to 2021. His six-fight win streak is his longest, and it carried him through a run of finishes: Niko Price, Chad Laprise, Jalin Turner, Bryan Barberena and Derrick Krantz.

Then came a split decision over Mike Perry and a unanimous loss to Stephen Thompson. The best stretch of his career followed. He stopped Price again, beat Randy Brown, submitted Tyron Woodley in the first round, and then submitted Michael Chiesa, the one elite opponent he has beaten.

The next elite test went the other way. He headlined against Muhammad in April 2022 and lost a five-round unanimous decision. Geoff Neal stopped him in the third round that August. A five-round main-event win over Rafael Dos Anjos in 2023 was followed by losses to Joaquin Buckley (KO/TKO, round 2) and, after a 52-second submission of Themba Gorimbo, to Kevin Holland by submission in the second round.

Since then: a decision loss to Joel Álvarez, a first-round submission of Kelvin Gastelum, and a decision loss to Tresean Gore.

His wins end fast, and his losses often go the distance.

Fighting Style

Luque is a volume striker. He lands far more strikes per minute than the typical UFC fighter and is more accurate than most. The price is that he absorbs more than most, and his striking defense sits around average, so he trades more than he avoids.

Anyone calling him a pure striker should check the finish column: seven of his 17 wins are submissions, and he attempts them at a better rate than most. He rarely shoots for takedowns himself, far less than the UFC average, yet he defends them better than most. The grappling comes off his back foot or from scrambles, not from a wrestling-first plan.

The finishing pattern is front-loaded. Five of his first-round finishes came by KO/TKO and five by submission, and the other five finishes came in rounds two and three.

Notable Wins

• Michael Chiesa — submission, round 1, UFC 265 (2021)
• Tyron Woodley — submission, round 1, UFC 260 (2021)
• Niko Price — KO/TKO, round 3, UFC 249 (2020)
• Rafael Dos Anjos — unanimous decision, round 5, UFC Fight Night (2023)

Quick Facts

• Division: Middleweight
• UFC record: 17-9
• Professional record (all promotions): 24-13-1
• UFC debut: 2015
• Stance: Orthodox
• Height / reach: 5'11" / 75.5"
• Team: Blackzilians, Boca Raton, FL
• Born: Westwood, NJ, United States