UFC fighter Vicente Luque returns from a CERAMIC BLOOD to beat Rafael dos Anjos in Las Vegas: ‘It’s a miracle to be here’
- Last year, Vicente Luque was diagnosed with a brain haemorrhage after a fight
- Just over a year later and he has won on his brave return to UFA and fighting
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It turns out that Damar Hamlin was not the only one who made a sporting comeback against all odds on Saturday.
Hours after the NFL star returned to his Buffalo Bills following a cardiac arrest on the field in January, UFC fighter Vicente Luque made a winning return after suffering a brain hemorrhage during his last fight.
Luque defeated Rafael dos Anjos via unanimous decision in the welterweight main event at UFC Fight Night in Las Vegas – a year and a week after his life was almost forever changed.
On August 6, 2022, Luque was knocked out by rival fighter Geoff Neal and was later diagnosed with a brain hemorrhage.
The 31-year-old said on Saturday after his win: “I’m a cold guy but I can tell you I’m very emotional at the moment. I came back stronger than ever. I beat a former champion at his game.
UFC fighter Vicente Luque made a winning return on Saturday after a brain hemorrhage
Luque (left) won a unanimous points decision over Rafael dos Anjos during his UFC comeback
Luque admitted he was nervous about getting hit again on his return to the fight
“It’s a miracle for me to be here. Many people know what happened to me a year ago. I was never afraid of anything, but I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to do this again.
“In the first round I was afraid of getting hit. It had been a year without a fight. I didn’t know how I would react. Now I’m going to improve and study this and get better.
Luque was caught early by some left hands and an elbow by Dos Anjos, but it seemed those blows took away any fear Luque had of getting hit.
He landed a career-high eight takedowns against Dos Anjos – the second most the Brazilian had allowed behind Kamaru Usman at 12. Luque improved to 22-9-1 in MMA as Dos Anjos dropped to 32-15.
Luque is ready to go from strength to strength and targets Dustin Poirier for his next fight.
“An interesting fight too, I think I’d be happy to welcome Dustin Poirier, if he needs someone,” he said.
“He said he might go to 170, so who knows? We could make that work.’