Tag: Vicente Luque

Vicente Luque wants ranked opponent after UFC 310 win but would make one exception

Vicente Luque is looking at a marquee matchup against a ranked opponent, though he’d welcome Jorge Masvidal in Miami.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Vicente Luque[/autotag] is looking at a marquee name or a spot in the rankings after UFC 310.

Luque (22-10-1 MMA, 15-6 UFC) needed just 52 second to submit Themba Gorimbo on Saturday at T-Mobile Arena. Luque has mixed results as of late but was once on a tear when he took out one welterweight contender after the other. He called out the returning [autotag]Jorge Masvidal[/autotag] (35-17 MMA, 12-10 UFC) for a potential fight in Miami, but “The Silent Assassin” still has his sights set on the title.

“Yeah, I mean, for me, this fight was (about) closing out the year in the perfect way, for me to start my way back up the division,” Luque told MMA Junkie and other reporters. “My focus has never stopped being a champion, and that’s what I’m going for.

“2025 is that run for the title, and I want that Miami card. I want top 10, but I have an exception. If Masvidal really wants to step back in there, and he wants to get it done, I would love to have a battle against him.”

Luque was awarded a Performance of the Night bonus for his quick finish of Gorimbo, and the proven finisher sees Masvidal as a fan-favorite matchup. His 14 stoppage wins at welterweight are second-most in UFC divisional history behind Matt Brown (15).

“I want him as an opponent because I know it’s going to be a war,” Luque said of Masvidal. “I know that the fans are going to enjoy that, and I know that we both can deliver a battle.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 310.

UFC 310 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: 2024 total passes $8 million

The UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance program has now paid out more than $8 million to athletes in 2024 under the Venum deal.

LAS VEGAS – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC 310 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $368,500.

The program, a comprehensive plan that includes outfitting requirements, media obligations and other items under the fighter code of conduct, replaces the previous payments made under the UFC Athlete Outfitting Policy.

UFC 310 took place at T-Mobile Arena. The main card aired on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN2 and ESPN+.

The full UFC 310 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

* * * *

[autotag]Alexandre Pantoja[/autotag]: $42,000
def. [autotag]Kai Asakura[/autotag]: $32,000

[autotag]Shavkat Rakhmonov[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Ian Machado Garry[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Ciryl Gane[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Alexander Volkov[/autotag]: $16,000

[autotag]Bryce Mitchell[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Kron Gracie[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Dooho Choi[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Nate Landwehr[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Dominick Reyes[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Anthony Smith[/autotag]: $21,000

[autotag]Vicente Luque[/autotag]: $21,000
def. [autotag]Themba Gorimbo[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Movsar Evloev[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Aljamain Sterling[/autotag]: $21,000

[autotag]Bryan Battle[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Randy Brown[/autotag]: $16,000

[autotag]Eryk Anders[/autotag]: $16,000
def. [autotag]Chris Weidman[/autotag]: $16,000

[autotag]Joshua Van[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Cody Durden[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Michael Chiesa[/autotag]: $16,000
def. [autotag]Max Griffin[/autotag]: $16,000

[autotag]Chase Hooper[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Clay Guida[/autotag]: $21,000

[autotag]Kennedy Nzechukwu[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Lukasz Brzeski[/autotag]: $6,000

Under the UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance program’s payout tiers, which appropriate the money generated by Venum’s multi-year sponsorship with the UFC, fighters are paid based on their total number of UFC bouts, as well as Zuffa-era WEC fights (January 2007 and later) and Zuffa-era Strikeforce bouts (April 2011 and later). Fighters with 1-3 bouts receive $4,000 per appearance; 4-5 bouts get $4,500; 6-10 bouts get $6,000; 11-15 bouts earn $11,000; 16-20 bouts pocket $16,000; and 21 bouts and more get $21,000. Additionally, champions earn $42,000 while title challengers get $32,000.

In addition to experience-based pay, UFC fighters will receive in perpetuity royalty payments amounting to 20-30 percent of any UFC merchandise sold that bears their likeness, according to officials.

Full 2024 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:

Year-to-date total: $8,072,000
2023 total: $8,188,000
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $30,809,000

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 310.

UFC 310 results: Vicente Luque chokes out Themba Gorimbo in 52 seconds, calls out Jorge Masvidal

Vicente Luque scored the fastest anaconda choke submission win in history at UFC 310, then called out Jorge Masvidal.

[autotag]Vicente Luque[/autotag] showed he should not be written off at this stage of his career when he destroyed [autotag]Themba Gorimbo[/autotag] at UFC 310.

Luque (22-10-1 MMA, 15-6 UFC) moved into second place on the all-time welterweight finishes list when he rocked Gorimbo (14-5 MMA, 4-2 UFC) early in the fight at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. He then latched onto an anaconda choke that put his opponent out cold just 52 seconds into the contest.

It was a brilliant performance from Luque, who many questioned about his ability to return to top form after a brain bleed nearly ended his career several years ago (via X):

Luque’s 14 stoppage victories in UFC welterweight competition trail only Matt Brown (15) all-time in the division, and afterward he declared his intention to rack up many more in his career, while calling out Jorge Masvidal for a rumored UFC event in Miami in 2025.

“I am back – I am back to finish everybody,” Luque said in his post-fight interview with Joe Rogan. “You guys counted me out, but I’ve never been out. I’m back. … Masvidal, there’s a show coming in Miami. Let’s go.”

Up-to-the-minute UFC 310 results include:

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 310.

UFC 310’s Vicente Luque puts Nick Diaz in the past after two scrapped bouts

Vicente Luque is done with pursuing a possible fight with Nick Diaz.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Vicente Luque[/autotag] is done with pursuing a possible fight with [autotag]Nick Diaz[/autotag].

Luque (22-10-1 MMA, 15-6 UFC) was initially scheduled to fight Diaz at UFC on ABC 7 August in Abu Dhabi, but the bout was scrapped after Diaz pulled out due to travel issues. The pair were rebooked for Saturday’s UFC 310 (ESPN+ pay-per-view, ESPN2, Hulu, ESPN+) event at T-Mobile Arena, but Diaz withdrew once again.

Now, Luque faces rising welterweight contender Themba Gorimbo (14-4 MMA, 4-1 UFC) instead. Luque explains that after a concerning video of Diaz surfaced, he had an inkling that the fight could be off again.

“Maybe a week after the video, something like that, I’m not sure how long ago that is,” Luque told MMA Junkie and other reporters at Wednesday’s UFC 310 media day. “Me and Ali (Abdelaziz), my manager – we were talking about it. Without even the UFC saying anything, ‘Let’s try to reach out to them and make sure that something’s going on.’

“When I was supposed to fight in August and it didn’t happen, the UFC wanted this fight – it was a big fight. I said, ‘OK, let’s do it – but I want to fight this year.’ I told Ali, ‘I’ll be ready for anybody.’ I knew, like, ‘Maybe it’s not going to happen, so I’ll stay ready for whoever steps up,’ and great that Themba stepped up and now we get a fight.”

After Gorimbo picked up his fourth-straight win over Niko Price, he offered to be a backup against Luque or Diaz if either pulled out – and he got his wish.

“When he said that, I heard right away and my mind was like, ‘OK, if something happens (with Diaz), there is somebody,” Luque said. “There’s somebody that is going to say yes. So in my mind, I knew that he could be an option – maybe even the first option, and that’s what happened.”

After the first Diaz (26-10 MMA, 7-7 UFC) fight was scrapped, Luque was hoping for a rebooking. But after the second fight fell through, “The Silent Assassin” is no longer interested.

“At this point, I don’t think it will happen again,” Luque said. “Maybe – who knows. But I’m up the division. I’m looking to get past Themba. That’s first mission to be accomplished, and after that I’m looking up. I think that the Nick fight is past.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 310.

Speaking from experience, Vicente Luque predicts Shavkat Rakhmonov vs. Ian Machado Garry

Vicente Luque has some training insight into Shavkat Rakhmonov and Ian Machado Garry before they clash at UFC 310.

[autotag]Vicente Luque[/autotag] has some training insight into [autotag]Shavkat Rakhmonov[/autotag] and [autotag]Ian Machado Garry[/autotag].

Luque has trained with both Rakhmonov and Machado Garry at Kill Cliff FC. Machado Garry has since left the Florida-based gym and recently spent time training at Chute Boxe Diego Lima in Sao Paulo and Bangtao Muay Thai and MMA in Phuket.

Rakhmonov (18-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) takes on Machado Garry (15-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC) in a five-round welterweight bout on Saturday in the UFC 310 co-main event from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Luque confirms that Rakhmonov is as good as advertised.

“I’ve trained recently with Shavkat for this fight,” Luque said on the “Overdogs Podcast.” “We’ve trained sometimes, and he’s really good. He’s really good. He’s not just hype. He’s very good all around. He strikes very well, he has good conditioning, good grappling, good wrestling, and I think he could definitely be a champion in the division.”

As for Machado Garry, Luque admits that it’s been years since they’ve last trained. He gave his verdict for the likely No. 1 contender clash.

“When we go to Shavkat and Ian, I’ve trained with Ian over two years ago,” Luque said. “So, from then, I’m sure that he has changed, he has gotten better. I think the edge he has is striking but not by much, and then grappling and wrestling for me, Shavkat is better. So I’m going to give, you know, Shavkat favorite on that fight.”

Luque (22-10-1 MMA, 15-6 UFC) also competes at UFC 310 when he takes on Themba Gorimbo (14-4 MMA, 4-1 UFC) in Saturday’s prelims (pay-per-view, ESPN2, ESPN+) at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 310.

UFC free fight: Vicente Luque taps former champion Tyron Woodley with slick submission

Watch Vicente Luque end Tyron Woodley’s UFC career with a slick first-round D’Arce choke.

[autotag]Vicente Luque[/autotag]’s submission victory over former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley may go down as the biggest win of his career.

Luque entered UFC 260 on the heels of back-to-back stoppage victories, setting up a crossroads fight against Woodley at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. After dropping his title to Kamaru Usman, Woodley’s career took a downturn, losing his next two bouts. The meeting with Luque was a do-or-die situation, and “The Silent Assassin” shut the door on Woodley’s UFC career with a first-round D’Arce choke.

Luque (22-10-1 MMA, 15-6 UFC) returns to the octagon at UFC 310. He takes on Themba Gorimbo (14-4 MMA, 4-1 UFC), who fills in for the originally scheduled Nick Diaz.

UFC 310 (pay-per-view, ESPN 2, ESPN+) takes at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Check out Luque’s big win over Woodley in the video above.

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 310.

Nick Diaz officially out of UFC 310; Vicente Luque gets new opponent

Fight fans won’t see Nick Diaz in the UFC cage in 2024, after all.

Fan-favorite UFC star [autotag]Nick Diaz[/autotag] won’t be competing in 2024 after all.

Saturday during the UFC Fight Night 248 broadcast, the promotion confirmed Diaz (26-10 MMA, 7-7 UFC) is out of his Dec. 7 bout at UFC 310 vs. [autotag]Vicente Luque[/autotag] (22-10-1 MMA, 15-6 UFC) for undisclosed reasons. MMA Mania first reported the change.

Stepping in for Diaz will be [autotag]Themba Gorimbo[/autotag] (14-4 MMA, 4-1 UFC). The three-round welterweight bout will take place on the card’s prelims at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

The cancellation comes days after a bizarre video of Diaz sitting on the ground and attempting to light something on fire went viral on social media. It’s unclear what Diaz was doing exactly, as is the original source of the video.

Diaz, 41, has not competed since a September 2021 loss to Robbie Lawler. That fight is his only since January 2015. He attempted a comeback for an August bout vs. Luque, but withdrew from that one, too, though that was due to “travel issues,” according to the promotion.

Zimbabwe’s Gorimbo, 33, steps into the highest-profile MMA fight of his life against a former welterweight contender. He enters the bout on a four-fight winning streak that consists of victories over Takashi Sato, Pete Rodriguez, Ramiz Brahimaj, and Niko Price.

Luque, 32, aims to bounce back from a TKO loss to Joaquin Buckley in March. The defeat was his third in four fights with the lone victory in the stretch a unanimous decision over Rafael dos Anjos.

With the change, the UFC 310 lineup includes:

  • Alexandre Pantoja vs. Kai Asakura – for flyweight title
  • Ian Machado Garry vs. Shavkat Rakhmonov
  • Ciryl Gane vs. Alexander Volkov
  • Kron Gracie vs. Bryce Mitchell
  • Movsar Evloev vs. Aljamain Sterling
  • Dominick Reyes vs. Anthony Smith
  • Clay Guida vs. Chase Hooper
  • Eryk Anders vs. Chris Weidman
  • Michael Chiesa vs. Max Griffin
  • Themba Gorimbo vs. Vicente Luque
  • Cody Durden vs. Joshua Van
  • Martin Buday vs. Rizvan Kuniev
  • Bryan Battle vs. Randy Brown
  • Lukasz Brzeski vs. Kennedy Nzechukwu
  • Doo Ho Choi vs. Nate Landwehr

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 310.

Daniel Cormier: Nick Diaz must be locked in to ‘not embarrass himself’ vs. Vicente Luque at UFC 310

Daniel Cormier believes things could get ugly for Nick Diaz if he doesn’t take his UFC 310 return seriously.

[autotag]Daniel Cormier[/autotag] hopes [autotag]Nick Diaz[/autotag] shows up in shape against [autotag]Vicente Luque[/autotag].

Diaz (26-10 MMA, 7-7 UFC) returns against Luque (22-10-1 MMA, 15-6 UFC) in a welterweight bout at UFC 310 on Dec. 7 from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas (ESPN+ pay-per-view, ESPN2, ESPN+).

Diaz hasn’t competed since a TKO loss to Robbie Lawler in September 2021, when he looked out of shape in what was his first fight in more than six years. Diaz’s team later revealed he was dealing with a neck injury, which hampered his training camp.

“The thing about Nick Diaz, for me: I want the guy from the pictures, I’m going to just say it,” Cormier said on “Good Guy/Bad Guy” with Chael Sonnen. “I don’t want to see Nick Diaz that is just ripped. When he fought Robbie Lawler, I was so excited because I was like, ‘Man, he’s been back on the triathlons, and he looks even better than he did in his prime.’

“Then when he got to the octagon, he looked nothing like that person. He looked like a guy that was pushing 40, that hadn’t fought in many, many years, and I didn’t know if he still had that fight in him.”

Although Luque has lost three of his past four fights, Cormier still sees the once streaking contender as a stern test for Diaz. He worries that the former Strikeforce champion and UFC title challenger may tarnish his legacy if he doesn’t take Luque seriously and perform.

“Vicente Luque is thought to be on the decline,” Cormier said. “I kind of judged him based on how badly Joaquin Buckley beat him. But then now watching Joaquin Buckley do what he did to the kid that was 18-1 in St. Louis, doing what he did to Stephen Thompson, now I look back at Vicente Luque and wonder if I was too quick to judgment.

“Maybe I didn’t see how good Joaquin Buckley is as opposed to the state of Vicente Luque’s career. I still think that’s a lot for Nick Diaz. Nick Diaz struggled with Robbie Lawler, and Robbie Lawler was only one fight away from retirement. Vicente Luque is not going anywhere. It’s a tough fight. I think for Nick, though, he has to be really locked in if he wants to go out there and not embarrass himself.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 310.

Nick Diaz’s octagon return vs. Vicente Luque rebooked for UFC 310 in December

After UFC CEO Dana White expressed doubt about a return in 2024, Nick Diaz is back vs. Vicente Luque at UFC 310 in December.

After UFC CEO Dana White expressed doubt about getting a [autotag]Nick Diaz[/autotag] fight back on the books this year, the beloved veteran has been rescheduled against [autotag]Vicente Luque[/autotag] on the final numbered UFC event of 2024.

Diaz, a former Strikeforce champion and UFC title challenger, was originally slated to fight Luque in his first bout since September 2021 at UFC on ABC 7 in August. He withdrew due to travel issues, but now a new date is set for UFC 310, which goes down Dec. 7 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas (ESPN+ pay-per-view, ESPN2, ESPN+).

The first time Diaz (26-10 MMA, 7-7 UFC) and Luque (22-10-1 MMA, 15-6 UFC) were scheduled, it was a five-round welterweight bout. This time it is set for three rounds in the 170-pound weight class. White announced the matchup as part of a slew of matchups for the card on Saturday.

https://www.instagram.com/p/DBCBgLSPhiZ/

Two people with knowledge of the situation verified the booking with MMA Junkie following an initial report from MMA Mania. The people requested anonymity because the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.

Diaz, older brother of Nate Diaz, hasn’t fought since losing to Robbie Lawler in 2021. That was also his first fight in six years. The 41-year-old is winless in his past four bouts, and hasn’t achieved a victory since battering B.J. Penn at UFC 137 in October 2011.

Luque is also looking to break out of a difficult stretch. The 32-year-old has dropped three of his past four octagon appearances, with his most bout being a TKO loss to Joaquin Buckley at UFC on ESPN 54 in March.

The latest UFC 310 lineup now includes:

  • Belal Muhammad vs. Shavkat Rakhmonov – for welterweight title
  • Alexandre Pantoja vs. Kai Asakura – for flyweight title
  • Ciryl Gane vs. Alexander Volkov
  • Movsar Evloev vs. Aljamain Sterling
  • Dominick Reyes vs. Anthony Smith
  • Virna Jandiroba vs. Tatiana Suarez
  • Clay Guida vs. Chase Hooper
  • Michael Chiesa vs. Max Griffin
  • Nick Diaz vs. Vicente Luque
  • Cody Durden vs. Joshua Van

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 310.

Vicente Luque hopes for quick rebooking with Nick Diaz; Dana White ‘not very’ confident it happens in 2024

Vicente Luque has a far higher degree of optimism about getting a new date on the books with Nick Diaz than that of UFC CEO Dana White.

[autotag]Vicente Luque[/autotag] has a far higher degree of optimism about getting a new date on the books with [autotag]Nick Diaz[/autotag] than that of UFC CEO [autotag]Dana White[/autotag].

Luque (22-10-1 MMA, 15-6 UFC) was scheduled to fight Diaz (26-10 MMA, 7-7 UFC) in Saturday’s UFC on ABC 7 co-main event in Abu Dhabi unless less than two weeks out from the date UFC officials announced the matchup was off due to travel issues on Diaz’s side.

There has been little further information as to Diaz’s status for what would’ve been his first fight since a September 2021 loss to Robbie Lawler, and just his second appearance overall since January 2015. Luque talked to MMA Junkie during UFC 304 fight week in Manchester, England, and said he was disheartened by the postponement, but was confident it would be rescheduled.

“The buildup to it, I expected to have some kind of an issue with the weight or some kind of unexpected thing,” Luque told MMA Junkie. “But I didn’t think the fight was going to fall through. I was disappointed. I feel super ready, super excited to step in there and fight a legend like Nick. Hopefully we’re going to get it rescheduled for soon.

“We’re working on rescheduling the fight and I’m going to stay ready. If we can do it soon or maybe September, maybe August. … No word yet.”

It appears Luque could be waiting some time for that word to come through. When asked about Diaz’s situation at Saturday’s UFC 304 post-fight news conference, White told MMA Junkie that he has legitimate doubts it happens in 2024.

“I have no idea,” White said. “Not very (confident he fights this year).”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ABC 7.