An explosive matchup between Tyron Woodley and Vicente Luque will warm up the night this Saturday before the headline event featuring Stipe Miocic and Francis Ngannou. This is an exciting head-to-head that pits a former champion with something to prove and a veteran looking to improve his resume in hopes of a title fight down the road. Check out our preview of Woodley-Luque fight below.
There was a time when Tyron Woodley was on top of the welterweight division, and that’s the status he wants to savor again. But first, he’ll have to snap his winless skid. Woodley has lost his last three fights, though those were all against the who’s who of the welterweight division. He lost his welterweight title to Kamaru Usman in 2019, then lost back to back to Gilbert Burns and Colby Covington. In this fight against Luque, it’s all about proving he still belongs in the conversation of top welterweights in the UFC for Woodley. Losing to Luque, would be a huge hit to his relevance in the division. Woodley is reportedly in great shape, as he should, with his career probably on the line. Woodley’s reach is shorter by 1.5 inches than Luque’s, but he’s got a significant 4.5 leg reach edge. Woodley can take this fight to the ground where he can use his black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and wrestling background to smother Luque. Remember that Woodley has five submission wins and he’s never been submitted in his MMA career. Then there’s his striking power that has allowed him to record 10 knockdowns landed, the most among all active welterweights in the UFC
Speaking of striking, Luque has all the confidence in the world in his stand-up game. Luque is the type who would relentlessly attack the head, rarely making an effort to soften up his opponent’s body or legs. In fact, 62 percent of Luque’s significant strikes landed have been on the head. He’s always on his feet, as he’s landed 85 percent of his strikes while standing up and only nine percent when he’s on the ground. The Brazilian has 11 wins via knockouts in his MMA career. His power is complemented by a seemingly strong jaw, as he’s never been knocked out before, though he’s absorbing 53 percent of his opponents’ strikes. Among all active UFC welterweights, Luque is second in both finishes (11) and knockout wins (8), and tied with Woodley and Stephen Thompson in knockouts landed (10). Moreover, under that qualification, Luque leads all welterweights in strikes per landed (5.72). Woodley will have his hands full defending against Luque’s aggressiveness and power
