LAS VEGAS – Vicente Luque is back this weekend, and feeling beyond grateful to be able to fight again.
The long-time UFC welterweight contender returns to action this Saturday at UFC on ESPN 51 after overcoming a brain hemorrhage that stemmed from a knockout loss to Geoff Neal in August 2022. Luque (21-9-1 MMA, 14-5 UFC) has been medically cleared by the Nevada Athletic Commission ahead of his main event bout against former lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos (32-14 MMA, 21-12 UFC).
“That was definitely unfortunate, but I was 100 percent blessed to be able to recover very well,” Luque told reporters at the UFC on ESPN 51 media day. “Since the first day, right after the fight when I got the news, they did all the testing, all the exams and everything went well. My body was recovering.
“Then the UFC, my manager Ali Abdelaziz, they were always with me in this process trying to get the best information for me to make sure I was going to get fully recovered and be able to compete. Now I’m back and 100 percent. I would even say I’m better than 100 percent. I feel a much better fighter than I was before. I’m definitely blessed.”
The loss to Neal was the first time Luque had been knocked out in his career. He isn’t sure if he felt the brain hemorrhage, since it was also his first time taking that type of damage in a fight.
“It’s hard for me to say and have a difference between ‘I just took a hard beating’ and ‘I have something serious’ because I’ve never been knocked out,” Luque said. “That was the first time. And before that, I’ve only been knocked down by ‘Wonderboy’ and Barberena if I’m not mistaken, and in training I’ve never been knocked out. So for me, it’s not something common, not a normal feeling. So it definitely felt different. I can’t say it’s because of the injury, or it’s because it was the first time getting knocked out.”
After getting the news of the brain hemorrhage, Luque took an entire month off from physical activity. After the month, he began running and working out. Not long after that, the Brazilian incorporated grappling and pad work.
Luque did wait six months until he began sparring, and even then, it was once every couple of weeks. This scare has made Luque more cautious, even now that he’s medically cleared.
“Even the way I spar has changed,” Luque said. “It’s much more technical and I know how to work in a way where I’m not getting into brawls in sparring anymore. Also, being with the team at Kill Cliff, there are so many high-level guys that they know how to respect that. We push hard physically cardio, but we don’t need to be hitting each other and hurting each other.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 51.
