Luque rebounds with decision over Dos Anjos in UFC main event
Vicente Luque says it's a miracle he's still able to fight after having a serious health scare last year. And yet he managed to beat a former champion in his return.
The UFC welterweight contender earned a grueling win over Rafael dos Anjos on Saturday, defeating him via unanimous decision (49-46, 48-47, 48-47) in the UFC Fight Night main event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
Luque snapped a two-fight skid with the victory. He stepped into the Octagon for the first time since suffering a brain bleed sustained from a knockout loss to Geoff Neal in August 2022. The result was Luque's first KO defeat of his career. The Nevada Athletic Commission medically cleared him in late July.
"I never fear anything," Luque said in his postfight interview. "But I feared never doing this again."
The fight against Dos Anjos was competitive for all five rounds. But Luque, known for getting into slugfests on the feet, prevailed against his fellow Brazilian by taking a much more economical approach than usual.
Luque and Dos Anjos grappled for a lot of the bout, especially in the clinch up against the fence, and Luque surprisingly had his way with the former lightweight champion. He secured a career-high eight takedowns but never came close to finishing Dos Anjos. Luque's size advantage - he's a natural welterweight, while Dos Anjos' best work has come at 155 pounds - appeared to play a part in his ability to control the fight on the ground.
The striking exchanges were even. Dos Anjos got Luque's attention with a few hard punches in the third and fifth rounds. Luque opened up a cut on Dos Anjos' face early in the fight.
"I came back stronger than ever, fighting a former champ and beating him at his game," Luque said, noting he added new tools to his arsenal while sidelined.
Unsure how his body would hold up in his first fight since the brain bleed, Luque said he was "afraid of getting hit" in the first round. He added that he got more confident as the fight progressed.
"I didn't know how I was going to react," Luque said. "He touched me sometimes, and I said, 'OK, I'm fine. I don't want to get hit anymore, but let's work.'"
The win is Luque's first since he submitted Michael Chiesa in August 2021. Luque went 0-2 last year, also dropping a five-round unanimous decision to Belal Muhammad.
Ranked No. 10 at welterweight, Luque knows he isn't next in line for a title shot but wants to move closer to a championship opportunity.
"I'm looking at the top of the division," Luque said. "We got a new champion in Leon Edwards. We don't know who he's going to fight next. And I'm eyeing to get in that mix. So I definitely want a top contender."
Dos Anjos is now 1-1 since returning to welterweight. He was coming off a submission victory over Bryan Barberena last December. The 38-year-old, who held the UFC lightweight title from 2015-16, has alternated wins and losses in his previous six UFC appearances.