Vicente Luque returned to the win column at UFC 249, a doctor’s stoppage ending the night of opponent Niko Price.
The wildly entertaining bout saw Price take considerable damage, with a nasty left hook finally doing enough to bring the doctor in near the end of the third. It didn’t take long for him to wave it off, and who can blame him: Price’s eye was swollen shut.
NIKO PRICE'S EYE 😳
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— ESPN (@espn) May 10, 2020
The fight was the second between Price and Luque (18-7-1), who had a six-fight win streak snapped by Stephen Thompson in his previous outing. The Brazilian was originally scheduled to face Randy Brown in early April, but after the coronavirus pandemic struck, he saw a pair of dates fall through.
“I definitely wanted to fight and I was keeping myself ready so I was gonna fight April 11. Then April 18. They all got canceled, but I kept the mindset [that] I’m gonna fight,” Luque told reporters including Cageside Press in a virtual media scrum following UFC 249 in Jacksonville, Florida. Now, the plan is to relax a little, “enjoy my family and stay safe through the quarantine.”
Although, Luque added, a trip to Fight Island is appealing. “Fight Island for me is a great idea. If that really happens, I would love to fight there. So I’m going to keep myself ready.”
As to who might meet him on that island location (assuming Dana White is able to pull off the concept of hosting fights on a private island,), “I don’t know,” said Luque. “There are a lot of guys out there that that don’t have a fight right now in the top 15. I think Geoff Neal would be an interesting fight. But many guys, many guys in the top 15. That’s what I’m aiming [at], top 15, top 10.”
Geoff Neal, for his part, is undefeated since joining the UFC. He coach recently spoke out about Neal struggling to find opponents.
