UFC on ESPN 51 headliner Vicente Luque has a knack for spectacular highlight finishes. Of all the fighters he’d beaten inside the octagon, though, only Mike Perry was able to make it to the judges.
Luque (21-9-1 MMA, 14-5 UFC), who returns to action in Saturday’s welterweight main event with former UFC champ Rafael dos Anjos (33-14 MMA, 21-12 UFC) at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, dished out a plethora of punishment on Perry over three rounds at UFC Fight Night 156, which took place Aug. 10, 2019 in Montevideo, Uruguay.
Both men landed heavy blows in the bout, but Luque inflicted the more significant damage as he rearranged Perry’s nose en route to a split decision win in the Fight of the Night.
The victory was a key part of Luque’s assent to title contender at 170 pounds, but he’s recently had that run derailed. He enters this weekend’s matchup vs. dos Anjos, which airs on ESPN and streams on ESPN+, on a two-fight losing skid.
He will attempt to get back on track against fellow Brazilian dos Anjos, and to get ready for it, you can rewatch his entire fight with Perry in the video above, courtesy of the UFC.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 51.
UFC free fight: Vicente Luque mangles Mike Perry’s nose in Fight of the Night