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Gastelum was coming off a victory over Dustin Stoltzfus in September, while Luque had dropped two straight bouts.

Starting the opening round, Gastelum came out pressing the action and threatening big left hands. Luque retreated to the fence looking land leg kicks and jabs to keep Gastelum at range. Gastelum ducked under a punch securing a bodylock that ended up leading to a takedown against the fence.

Working back to his feet, Luque was able to separate from the clinch. Gastelum then ran into a right hand from Luque in the pocket that floored him. Pouncing on top Luque landed damaging ground and pound before transitioning to a D’arce choke. Gastelum couldn’t find his way out of the choke and was forced to tap.

A signature submission for Vicente Luque who earned a a monumental win, as the company will certainly want to see him return. Luque locked up his fifth career D’arce choke submission with this victory, and earned his seventh win on numbered UFC events.

Official Result: Vicente Luque def. Kelvin Gastelum by submission (D’arce choke), Round 1, 4:08

The post UFC 327: Vicente Luque Subs Kevlin Gastelum in Veteran Battle appeared first on Cageside Press.

On Tuesday, the promotion announced five big fights for the UFC 327 card in Miami, Florida, which takes place on April 11, 2026 at the aforementioned venue.

Among them, Curtis Blaydes will face a relative newcomer in Josh Hokit at heavyweight, while Vicente Luque takes on the recently returned Kyle Daukaus at middleweight. That’s a move up in weight for Brazil’s Luque, who has long been a mainstay of the 170lb division.

Kevin Holland vs. Randy Brown at welterweight, Johnny Walker vs. Dominick Reyes at light heavyweight, and Azamat Murzakanov vs. Paulo Costa at middleweight were also officially announced by UFC officials on Tuesday.

Aside from the Luque move, heads are being turned by Hokit’s quick rise up the UFC ranks. A former football player, Hokit won his way into the UFC in 2025 on the Contender Series, and has picked up two victories, and two Performance of the Night bonuses since his arrival. At 8-0 overall, Hokit is unbeaten but is getting a massive step up in competition against Blaydes, who is ranked #4 in the weight class (Hokit is yet to see a number next to his name).

“The Incredible Hok,” however, has been busy with self-promotion Chael P. Sonnen style, pulling off some memorable, if controversial, pro wrestling style post-fight interviews.

While UFC President and CEO previously said “I don’t love it” of Hokit’s style, he’s getting quite the promotion at UFC 327.

UFC 327 also features a Joshua Van vs. Tatsuro Taira flyweight title fight, though a second championship match-up yet to be announced is likely to join the card.

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In the co-main event, a pair of ranked bantamweights fought to a split decision as former UFC flyweight champion, #6 Deiveson Figueiredo, topped #15, Montel Jackson. A variety of fighters on this edition of losers from ranked guys to tenured near .500 fighters.

Matuesz Gamrot

Charles Oliveira added to his UFC record for submission finishes as he strangled Matuesz Gamrot in the second round of their main event scrap on Saturday. Oliveira was originally scheduled to take on Rafael Fiziev- but he was forced to withdraw due to injury. Gamrot stepped in and became the 17th fighter to be submitted by Charles in the UFC octagon. Gamrot has now lost two of his last three but before that, was riding a three-fight win streak. It’s worth noting that the other loss was a split decision in 2024, and a fight of the night performance against Dan Hooker. Gamrot entered the fight ranked at #8, Rafael is ranked at #10, and Charles is #4.

Matuesz’s next fight should be against Paddy Pimblett. Extremely unlikely matchup? Maybe. But it’s a matchup that not only makes sense for both fighters, but also has potential upside for both.

Pimblett is 7-0 in the UFC and is ranked at #7 within the division. His most recent fight was in April when he finished Michael Chandler with strikes in the third round. In the fight prior, Chandler lost a unanimous decision to Charles Oliveria in November of 2024. Matching up Pimblett and Gamrot would give Paddy an opportunity to add a real elite in-his-prime name to his resume. On the flip side, it gives Gamrot a chance to show that he can scalp a top rising prospect. Grappler vs grappler matchup that holds huge weight for the division and could easily serve as a main event for a fight night. Winner would be on the short list for a title shot.

Matuesz’s next fight: Paddy Pimblett

Montel Jackson

Deiveson Figueiredo edged out Montel Jackson in a split decision in the co main event of UFC Rio on Saturday. The loss snaps Montel’s six-fight win streak dating back to 2020. Jackson is now 9-3 with the UFC. Considering Jackson entered this fight rounding out the rankings at #15, while Figueiredo was all the way down at #6- Saturday’s split decision bout was a solid showing for Jackson. However, on the other hand, Jackson left Rio without securing a win at 5’10” with a 75.5″ reach against a 5’5″ fighter with a 68″ reach. Difficult to stomach, but he was close and deserves another ranked matchup.

Montel’s next fight should be against the loser of Aiemann Zahabi vs Marlon Vera. That fight goes down on October 18th, so the timing would be perfect. Vera is ranked at #7 in the bantamweight division while Zahabi is at #9. Bout would make sense as Chito’s last fight was a unanimous decision loss to Figueiredo. Fight should be on the main card of a fight night or high on the undercard of a PPV. Winner would get a top #7-10 ranking.

Montel’s next fight: Loser of Aiemann Zahabi vs Marlon Vera

Vicente Luque

Vicente Luque welcomed Joel Alvarez to the welterweight division at UFC Rio Saturday, but ended up being on the wrong side of a hard-fought unanimous decision. Luque is now on a two-fight skid and has lost three of his last four fights. On the bright side for the 33-year-old, 16-8 UFC veteran, this was the first loss in that stretch where he was not finished. Luque was originally scheduled to face UFC veteran Santiago Ponzinibbio on Saturday, but Santiago withdrew from the bout.

Vicente’s next fight should be against Santiago Ponzinibbio. That matchup should be rebooked. Considering how Vicente has looked in his last few fights, despite his age, it warrants him being booked against a tough veteran like Santiago. Ponzinibbio has also lost three of his last four fights, and has been finished in all of those except one. The matchup fits perfectly. And because both fighters are respected by fans this could be on the undercard of a PPV or the main card of a fight night event. Winner would inch towards being 2-3 more victories from fighting for a ranking. Loser would start to get rumblings about retirement, especially if finished.

Vicente’s next fight: Santiago Ponzinibbio 

Jhonata Diniz

Undefeated fighter, Mario Pinto, smoked Jhonata Diniz in the second round of their bout on Saturday. Pinto finished the fight via ground strikes in the second, handing Diniz just his second loss with the UFC in five fights.

Jhonata’s next fight should be against Justin Tafa or Thomas Peterson. Diniz was scheduled to fight Tafa earlier this year, but the fight was cancelled when Justin withdrew. Diniz has gone 1-1 since that cancellation, while Tafa has yet to compete. That fight is still one that could be booked by UFC brass. Another option could be pairing Jhonata up with Thomas Peterson, who fought on the undercard of UFC Rio on Saturday. Peterson was finished, in devastating fashion, by Vitor Petrino in the final round of their bout. Thomas, a 2023 Contender Series product, is 2-3 within the UFC. Leaning towards rebooking the matchup with Justin, but either matchup could work just fine, as heavyweight outside of the top 15 is wide open.

Jhonata’s next fight: Justin Tafa or Thomas Peterson 

Ricardo Ramos

Kaan Ofli opened the main card of UFC Rio Saturday with a first round submission victory over Ricardo Ramos. Ramos has now lost four of his last five fights in the last two years. Ricardo’s only victory in the time span, Josh Culibao, was a split decision. Ramos is in a dire position currently.

Ricardo’s next fight should be against Lucas Almedia. Lucas has also lost four of his last five fights in around the last two years. And Almedia’s only win in the time span was a unanimous decision victory against Timmy Cuamba. Ricardo’s UFC career over the past two years closely mirrors Almedia’s.  Great ‘hot-seat’ fight where the loser of the bout would be on the short list for being released from the promotion.

Ricardo’s next fight: Lucas Almedia 

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The Garden State hosted the UFC for the 21st time on Saturday, this time, with the card being headlined by a pair of bantamweight title fights. In the co-main event, former Olympian, Kayla Harrison, bested Julianna Pena to successfully capture the belt. And in the final fight of the night, a rematch between, Merab Dvalishvilli and Sean O’Malley, ‘The Machine’ submitted ‘Suga’ to retain his 135lb title once again. This five-fight main card was all action and boasted three submission finishes. Some well-known veterans on this edition of losers and one former Bellator champ with an abysmal debut.

Sean O’Malley

Merab Dvalishvili dominated and submitted Sean O’Malley in the third round of their title fight in the main event of UFC 316. The rematch- in the makings since O’Malley lost his belt to Merab, last September, was highly anticipated.

Thanks to Merab, O’Malley has now lost twice in a row for the first time in his pro career. Heading into the fight Sean was the #1 ranked contender. There are a couple of different directions that Sean could choose to take this train at this point. He could look to move up to the featherweight division to mix it up as he has a large frame for bantamweight. However, there are still real contenders at bantamweight should he want to try again for the belt. That said, the path to the title shot is filled with grappling heavy fighters. It’d likely be wise for Sean to avoid a matchup like Umar Nurmagomedov and instead opt for the winner of Marcus McGhee vs Petr Yan. The pair a scheduled to fight on July 26th. Yan is currently ranked at #2 while McGhee is getting a huge opportunity at #13.

Marcus is 4-0 in the UFC, stopping three of his opponents and earning as many performance bonuses. Marcus was last in action in November with his unanimous decision victory over Jonathan Martinez. Petr fought Sean back in 2022 losing a controversial split decision in a bout that landed Fight of the Night honors. Petr would then lose to Merab before bouncing back, winning unanimous decisions against Song Yadong and most recently, Deiveson Figueiredo. A striker’s delight in the making, no matter who wins. And the potential for the fans to see a very entertaining rematch that has a lot of bad blood behind it. Also potential for fans to see new blood in the division against another former champion. This is a good fight for Sean to get his bearings to see if he should potentially move up in the future.

O’Malley’s next fight: Winner of Petr Yan vs Marcus McGhee

Julianna Pena

Kayla Harrison took just two rounds to smoother and submit Julianna Pena on Saturday. Pena, who has struggled with activity due to injury over the course of her entire UFC career, is now 8-4 with the promotion. This is a tough pill for Pena to swallow, as Kayla looked a lot stronger than her in there.

Julianna has a couple of opponents that make sense for her to take on next. Pena could take on Ketlen Vieira who is ranked at #3 in the division.  Vieira has a similar UFC record to Pena at 9-4. And she has a split decision loss to Raquel Pennington and her most recent defeat is a unanimous decision to Kayla Harrison, last October. This is a matchup that makes a lot of sense except for the fact that Ketlen egregiously missed weight for her most recent fight against Macy Chiasson on May 30. Even though Vieira got the unanimous decision victory, the fight had to be moved up to 145lbs (she weighed in at 146lbs).

With that fact in mind, a more deserving opponent would be Norma Dumont. Norma, who is ranked at #4 at bantamweight, is 8-2 within the UFC. Dumont is currently riding a five-fight win streak with her most recent win coming over Irene Aldana in September of last year. Norma is ready to fight and a bout against Pena could offer a fresh a competitive matchup to the division. Booking this one comes down to timing and what Pena is thinking next for her career- leaning toward the Dumont matchup but that’s only if Dumont hasn’t done enough already to warrant a title shot (extremely doubtful).

Pena’s next fight: Ketlen Vieira or Norma Dumont

Kelvin Gastelum

Joe Pyfer found success on the feet at UFC 316 on Saturday, dropping Kelvin Gastelum twice on the way to a unanimous decision victory. Both middleweight fighters were presumably narrowly outside of the rankings. Gastelum is now 2-2 since mid 2021 but has had five fights cancelled in the time frame as well. Somehow, The Ultimate Fighter Season 17 winner is still just 33 years old. A smaller middleweight, with no chance of a welterweight move due to his weight cutting history, Gastelum will have to be extremely selective with his matchups.

We could realistically see Kelvin taking on any number of opponents in his next fight. But ideally, Kelvin should fight Gerald Meerschaert in his next bout. Meerschaert is 12-11 in the UFC since being signed in 2016. The submission specialist is currently riding a two-fight losing streak but has fought nearly everyone at middleweight. Gerald is 3-3 in his last six fights including a 2023 first round TKO loss to Joe Pyfer. Gerald was last in action back in April when he lost a unanimous decision to Brad Tavares. The grappling prowess of Meerschaert vs the explosiveness, boxing and wrestling of Gastelum. Good fight for the fans. Winner firmly secures themselves in the gatekeeper status at the weight class. Loser could have a tough time gaining respect moving forward especially if the fight ends with a finish.

Gastelum’s next fight: Gerald Meerschaert

Patchy Mix

UFC newcomer and former Bellator champion Patchy Mix had no answer for Mario Bautista‘s standup on his way to a unanimous decision loss Saturday.  Mix stepped in after Bautista’s original opponent, #7 ranked Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera, was forced to withdraw due to injury.

Mario made his UFC debut against Corey Sandhagen in 2019- heading into Saturday he was riding a seven-fight win streak including victories over Ricky Simon and Jose Aldo. Even though Bautista is ranked at #10 he’s super tough. No excuses though, it was an ugly and head-scratching performance out of Patchy. With that said, Mix will need to establish where he fits within the ranks by getting in the win column in his next bout.

Giving Patchy the loser of Cody Garbrandt vs Raoni Barcelos could make a lot of sense. The two bantamweights just outside of the top 15 ranks are scheduled to fight on June 14th. Logic here is that Cody is a former UFC bantamweight champion himself. But he has stumbled in recent years in the form of numerous cancelled fights, injuries and Cody is 2-3 since mid-2020. Garbrandt was last in action in April of last year when he was submitted by Deiveson Figueiredo. Bracelos is a 12-fight UFC vet that has been with the promotion since 2018. Raoni is 2-2 in his last four fights, but those two losses are against Umar Nurmagomedov and Kyler Phillips. The 38-year-old bested hot-prospect, Payton Talbott, in his last time in the cage back in January.

Either way, a fight against either man would offer Mix an immediate chance to regain some lost respect. Both men are respectable opponents but have displayed some chinks in their armor in recent bouts. Good test to find out where Patchy belongs.

Mix’s next fight: Loser of Cody Garbrandt vs. Raoni Barcelos

Vicente Luque

Vicente Luque weathered some good shots early, only to be submitted in the second round of his UFC 316 main card opener, against Kevin Holland, on Saturday. Luque entered the fight ranked at #14 in the welterweight division while his opponent was unranked. Luque has struggled in recent years and he’s 2-4 since 2021. In comparison, before that, Luque was on a 10-1 streak within the UFC.

Vicente is 16-7 with the UFC in his 10th year with promotion. He will likely slide out of the top 15 welterweight rankings.

Sticking with a pick from a recent edition of Losers, Luque should take on Gilbert Burns in his next fight. Gilbert last fought on May 17th in a main event against Michael Morales. He was TKO’d midway thru the first round. The loss was his fourth in a row and he has not won since his April of 2023 victory against Jorge Masvidal. Gilbert is still ranked at #10 within the welterweight division and has had some extremely daunting opponents in recent years (Michael Morales, Sean Brady, Jack Della Maddalena, Belal Muhammad). At 38 years old, Burns isn’t done yet but would be a good matchup for a fighter like Luque.

The timing matches up and somehow these two UFC vets haven’t faced each other before. Easy booking to make here that could easily be a co-main event type fight. Winner claws right back into relevancy while the loser likely gets the official ‘journeyman’ title.

Vicente’s next fight: Gilbert Burns

The post What’s Next: UFC 316 Losers appeared first on Cageside Press.

His sights are set a bit higher than just a fight however. Maybe The Ultimate Fighter?

“Yeah I think it’d be a good one. I know they’re doing like the Ultimate Fighter house right now with Daniel Cormier and Chael Sonnen. To be honest with you it’s like they could really cancel that one. They could just do me and Colby (Covington),” Holland told reporters including Cageside Press at his post-fight scrum.

“Me and Colby could do whatever. Anything you guys wanted to do with me and Colby it would sell. It could be fun, it could be a lot of sh*t talking. It could be whatever the case it it needs to be.”

Coaching a reality show would be fun, but ultimately it’s about fighting.

“I think me and Colby does numbers. We’d be the highest fight night. On a pay-per-view card co-main event it’s like we’d help sell that thing out,” he said.

“You wouldn’t even need a stacked undercard.”

Covington wasn’t the only one mentioned. Themba Gorimbo also caught a stray in a way. Gorimbo posted on X “Kevin Holland, you’re officially on my hit list. You don’t do my daddy like that.”

Holland cracked a smile.

“That’s the guy that Vicente Luque beat last time. Yeah I don’t think I’m on his hit list. That guy so far down the totem pole it’s ridiculous,” said Holland.

“He only gets a clout name because The Rock likes him.”

Watch the entire post-fight scrum with Kevin Holland above.

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Holland had thrown fans for a loop thanks to a bizarre tweet earlier in the day, stating “well this is fooked (sic) up” just hours before the event kicked off. Turns out, Holland had dropped his phone.

No issues with the fight then, which saw Luque catch a kick early, and Holland unload some heavy punches while hopping on one leg. Not long after, a Holland elbow would find its mark, smashing into the side of Luque’s head. Despite concern over Luque’s ability to take damage of late, he took those shots well, and battled it out on the feet with Holland through the opening five minutes, both men getting some decent shots in, with the scales likely tilted towards Holland.

Early in the second, Holland, who had eight submission wins coming into the night, managed to trap Luque in a d’arce choke after dumping him off a kick. Holland had the choke wrapped up tight, and soon enough, Vicente was tapping!

Holland now has two straight wins following his victory over Gunnar Nelson.

Official Result: Kevin Holland def. Vicente Luque by submission (d’arce choke), Round 2, 1:03

The post UFC 316: Kevin Holland Locks Up D’arce on Vicente Luque appeared first on Cageside Press.

Luque (23-10-1) has been finished by Geoff Neal and Joaquin Buckley in recent years, though he’s coming in off a submission win over Themba Gorimbo. Still, the narrative seems to be that Luque can no longer handle the wars he’s become known for.

“Well keep an eye open on Saturday. You guys will see, you guys will see if I’m ready or not for war,” Luque said in response, speaking during Wednesday’s UFC 316 media day. “I’m excited.”

When it comes to Holland, Luque noted that “it’s a big fight and a challenging opponent. I like it, I like it, he’s going to take the best out of me for sure.”

Luque didn’t bring in anyone specific to replicate the lanky Holland, but has been training with Bellator champ Jason Jackson, the PFL’s Dilano Taylor, and UFC middleweight Gregory “Robocop” Rodrigues. “Nobody gets bigger than that guy, he’s really tall, very explosive. Kind of trying to get all these different guys to give me different looks, because really Holland is unpredictable. He’s not that kind of fighter that always fights the same. Sometimes he’ll bring some crazy moves, and sometimes it works. So I’ve got to be ready for that kind of unpredictability. But I feel ready, ready [for] any area he wants to bring the fight.”

Luque is circling the UFC’s finish record, sitting at 14 with Matt Brown one spot ahead of him at 15. It’s not something he’s trying to force, but definitely a record he’s seeking out.

“That would be awesome. I’m definitely chasing that record; like you said, I don’t chase the finishes, they just happen. But that’s my style, that’s what I do, I go in there and fight with all I have,” stated Luque. “Usually that’s gonna end up in a finish, because either I find a submission or a knockout show. It’s going to come eventually. And if I can get that record, man, that would be amazing.”

Watch the full UFC 316 media day appearance by Vicente Luque above.

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The UFC made the announcement on Friday.

Adding some firepower to #UFC316 🔥@VicenteLuqueMMA vs @Trailblaze2top is ON! pic.twitter.com/n7f5JH35QM

— UFC (@ufc) April 18, 2025

Luque (23-10-1) is coming off a submission victory over Themba Gorimbo at UFC 310 in December. He had been set to face Nick Diaz twice, but both bouts were canceled. Prior to that he dropped a bout against Joaquin Buckley.

Hollan (27-13) took a decision over Gunnar Nelson last time out in March which snapped a two-fight losing skid. The always active Holland jumps between welterweight and middleweight often enough to get around 3-4 fights a year. This will mark his third fight of 2025.

UFC 316 is centered around the UFC bantamweight titles. Merab Dvalishvili will defend his title against former champion Sean O’Malley. Kayla Harrison gets her first shot at a UFC belt when she challenges current champion Julianna Peña in the co-main event.

UFC 316 takes place June 7 at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ. Other bouts on the card include:

• Merab Dvalishvili (C) vs. Sean O’Malley – UFC bantamweight championship
• Julianna Peña (C) vs. Kayla Harrison – UFC women’s bantamweight championship
• Johnny Walker vs. Azamat Murzakanov
• Mario Bautista vs. Marlon Vera
• Kelvin Gastelum vs. Joe Pyfer
• Serghei Spivac vs. Shamil Gaziev
• Ariane Lipski vs. Cong Wang

The post Vicente Luque And Kevin Holland Set For UFC 316 appeared first on Cageside Press.