Luque’s Sneaky Knockdown

Vicente Luque turned a stumble into a knockdown on April 11, dropping Kelvin Gastelum with a right uppercut before finishing him later in the round at UFC 327. (mmajunkie.usatoday.com) The fight was the second preliminary bout at Kaseya Center in Miami, and Luque ended it with a D’Arce choke at 4:08 of Round 1. MMA Junkie listed Luque’s record at 24-12-1 and Gastelum’s at 20-11 after the result. (mmajunkie.usatoday.com) Cage Side Press reported that Gastelum “ran into a right hand” from Luque, who followed with ground strikes and then locked the choke. That sequence matched the clip that spread across social platforms after the card. (cagesidepress.com) The exchange landed hard because it came in Luque’s first Ultimate Fighting Championship bout at middleweight after years at welterweight. MMA Junkie noted that both men had spent much of their careers at 170 pounds before meeting at 185. (mmajunkie.usatoday.com) It also changed the immediate read on Luque’s form. MMA News said the win snapped a two-fight skid for Luque, who had lost to Kevin Holland and Joel Alvarez before UFC 327. (mmanews.com) For Gastelum, the loss added to a longer slide. MMA News said he is now 3-5 in his last eight fights, a stretch that has kept him from rebuilding momentum in the promotion. (mmanews.com) The finish itself fit Luque’s history. Cage Side Press counted it as his fifth career win by D’Arce choke, the front-headlock submission that attacks the neck and arm when a hurt opponent turtles or shoots in. (cagesidepress.com) Tapology’s bout page logged the fight as a completed middleweight prelim on April 11 and ranked it among the year’s notable submissions. The replay people kept sharing started with the uppercut, but the official ending went in the books as another Luque choke. (tapology.com)