UFC 260: Vicente Luque calls out Nate Diaz after handing Tyron Woodley fourth consecutive loss

‘The Silent Assassin’ wobbles former champion Woodley with a counter right before completing the d’Arce choke finish
‘I’ve called him out in the past and he didn’t respond ... my style matches perfect’ says Luque of Diaz

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)

Andrew McNicol

Published: 12:30pm, 28 Mar 2021

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Vicente Luque handed former welterweight champion Tyron Woodley his fourth consecutive loss with a second-round submission at UFC 260 in Las Vegas on Saturday night.

“The Silent Assassin” (20-7-1) withstood early wrestling and strong right hooks from much improved Woodley (19-7-1) to earn the biggest win of his career. Luque seriously wobbled Woodley with a counter-right before finishing him off on the ground against the fence with a d’Arce choke.

The 29-year-old Brazilian American – who beat Randy Brown via second-round TKO last August and Niko Price via third-round doctor’s stoppage last May – called out Nate Diaz in his post-fight interview. The 10t-ranked contender will likely leapfrog Woodley, who is No 7.

“I want to take this time to call out Nate Diaz. I’ve called him out in the past and he didn’t respond. I got a big win and a great streak coming on. My style matches perfect. I’m going to go forward and try to get the finish every single minute. Nate is the perfect fight. Let’s go,” Luque said.

“It was a great fight. Woodley is a legend, he really hits hard, he caught me a little bit there. But hey, if I get hit hard, I’m going to keep going forward and look for the finish every single minute.”

“The Chosen One” Woodley – who lost to current champion Kamaru Usman in 2019, Colby Covington via fifth-round TKO last September and Gilbert Burns via unanimous decision last May – took Luque to the cage with some early wrestling. The pair exchanged knees in the clinch before Woodley rocked his opponent with a clean right hook.

Former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley punches Vicente Luque.

The 38-year-old Woodley tried to capitalise but left his chin open while going for the finish. Luque’s counter took the American’s legs away, leaving the TKO or submission finish open.

“I took some of the balance away. I hit Woodley with a right hand. I have a hard chin and try not to use it but when I need to it’s there,” Luque said.

“I realised he was overcommitting with his punches after he hurt me, and thought ‘I’m going to counter those punched and hit him hard. At the end I saw the d’Arce and said, ‘No, I’m going to go for this’. My d’Arces and anacondas are really good and it paid off.”