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Next for Vicente Luque?
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01.14.2021 | 3:19 PM ET
Luque is the #10 welterweight. Only 29 years old, he is a young veteran: 12-2 in the UFC. His two losses come to Top 5 guys: Leon Edwards and Wonderboy.
He is riding a 2-fight win streak, with his last victory coming 5 months ago, in August.
WHAT DO YOU THINK? Who is next for Luque?
1. Geoff Neal (#11) - The most likely candidate. Guys like Maia (#7) and Woodley (#6) are taking up space in the Top 10. They are inactive, and will not take a fight with a hungry Luque. Neal is the closest guy, and well-matched. He is the same age as Luque and stylistically, will provide an interesting matchup between two top-level strikers.
2. Ponzinibbio (#13)/Li (#17) winner - In all likelihood, Ponz beats Li and will look to reassert himself in the top of the division. If so, his next opponent could very well be Luque, who provides a fresh matchup and even pairing between two Latin American sensations representing the same "Rio de la Plata" region.
3. Chiesa (#8)/ Magny (#9) winner - These guys fight January 20, in a week. The winner could take a fight versus another Top 10 guy in Luque. The Welterweight division is log jammed at the top, between 1 and 7, so if the winner of this bout wants to stay active they make choose Vicente next.
4. Muslim Salikhov (#16) - Muslim withdrew from his January 16 scheduled bout with Ponzinibbio due to COVID. He is a top fighter hanging outside the rankings. His only downside is his age at 36; late to make a run at Welterweight gold. I doubt we will get this matchup because the UFC will not be pushing him up toward the rankings. But it would be evenly paired, and could happen if Luque doesn't care about rankings when agreeing to a bout.
He is riding a 2-fight win streak, with his last victory coming 5 months ago, in August.
WHAT DO YOU THINK? Who is next for Luque?
1. Geoff Neal (#11) - The most likely candidate. Guys like Maia (#7) and Woodley (#6) are taking up space in the Top 10. They are inactive, and will not take a fight with a hungry Luque. Neal is the closest guy, and well-matched. He is the same age as Luque and stylistically, will provide an interesting matchup between two top-level strikers.
2. Ponzinibbio (#13)/Li (#17) winner - In all likelihood, Ponz beats Li and will look to reassert himself in the top of the division. If so, his next opponent could very well be Luque, who provides a fresh matchup and even pairing between two Latin American sensations representing the same "Rio de la Plata" region.
3. Chiesa (#8)/ Magny (#9) winner - These guys fight January 20, in a week. The winner could take a fight versus another Top 10 guy in Luque. The Welterweight division is log jammed at the top, between 1 and 7, so if the winner of this bout wants to stay active they make choose Vicente next.
4. Muslim Salikhov (#16) - Muslim withdrew from his January 16 scheduled bout with Ponzinibbio due to COVID. He is a top fighter hanging outside the rankings. His only downside is his age at 36; late to make a run at Welterweight gold. I doubt we will get this matchup because the UFC will not be pushing him up toward the rankings. But it would be evenly paired, and could happen if Luque doesn't care about rankings when agreeing to a bout.
* Edited at 01.14.2021, 3:20 PM ET *