Vicente
Luque’s headlining bout against Rafael dos
Anjos at UFC on ESPN 51 will proceed as planned after the
welterweight was cleared to compete at a Nevada State Athletic
Commission hearing on Tuesday.
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During that meeting, the NSAC revealed that Luque suffered a brain
hemorrhage in relation to a technical knockout loss to Geoff Neal at
UFC on ESPN 40 in August 2022. NSAC executive Jeff Mullen initially
confirmed the news to
MMAjunkie.com.
“He suffered a brain bleed [a year ago],” Mullen said. “He had a
suspension of one year. He had to bring before the commission
clearance from a neurosurgeon and a neurologist independently who
recommended he be licensed. We have that material. … I have faith
in our doctors.”
Luque’s license was unanimously approved by the commission. If he
fights again in Nevada after his Aug. 12 matchup with dos Anjos, he
will likely have to submit to additional testing to confirm he is
still healthy enough to compete.
UFC on ESPN 51 takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Luque will
attempt to snap a two-fight skid after falling to Neal and Belal
Muhammad in back-to-back outings last year.