In the works … Vicente Luque (@VicenteLuqueMMA)
vs. Geoff Neal (@handzofsteelmma)
for a UFC Fight Night on Aug. 6, location TBD. Fun, important
matchup in the UFC’s welterweight division. pic.twitter.com/paN8sYEklY— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN)
May 12, 2022
A spot inside of the top 10 of the
Ultimate Fighting Championship’s ultra-competitive welterweight
division will be up for grabs in early August.
The promotion’s broadcast partner of ESPN
broke the news on Thursday that Vicente
Luque (21-8-1) would be taking on Geoff Neal
(14-4) at a
UFC Fight Night event on Aug. 6.
ESPN did note that the contracts had yet to be signed, but
verbal agreements are in place. The destination of the event has
not been announced, but it may be staged in the UFC Apex in Las
Vegas.
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Brazil’s Luque saw a four-fight finish streak come to a grinding
halt in a rematch with Belal
Muhammad in April. In their five-round battle, Muhammad won the
second outing to make it 1-1 between the two, taking a clear-cut
decision over “The Silent Assassin.” Prior to his setback to
Muhamad, Luque had finished names like of Tyron
Woodley, Michael
Chiesa and Randy Brown
as he surged up the division.
Neal bounced back from a pair of decision losses – and thereby
ending the first losing streak of his career – by snagging a split
decision over Santiago
Ponzinibbio in December. Before running into Stephen
Thompson at the end of 2020, Neal had strung together seven
straight wins, with five in the UFC by beating foes including the
aforementioned Muhammad, Niko Price
and Mike
Perry.
The UFC Fight Night card on August 6 has not yet been given a
destination, but its headliner comes at light heavyweight when
Thiago
Santos takes on Jamahal
Hill. Other than that fight and Luque-Neal, other fights on the
billing include one at strawweight, as Cory
McKenna comes to blows with Miranda
Granger, as well as a lightweight scrap when Terrance
McKinney faces Erick
Gonzalez.