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UFC welterweight Vicente Luque suffered a horrific injury in his fight against Geoff Neal in August 2022.
Neal beat Luque via KO and unfortunately the latter sustained a brain hemorrhage and ended up spending months in recovery. This could've been a life-threatening injury as it causes bleeding between brain tissue and the skull or inside the brain tissue itself. As a result of the same, there were major concerns about him never being able to fight again as well.
However, thankfully for Luque, he recovered and successfully returned to the octagon at UFC Vegas 78. During his recovery journey, the support of the UFC and his determination played a pivotal role in his progress.
As revealed by Luque, the promotion stood by him throughout the entire process. He underwent thorough medical testing and examinations to ensure that his body was healing properly and that he was fit to return to the UFC.
Speaking of the same during a pre-fight press conference of his fight against Rafael dos Anjos, Luque said:
"That was unfortunate, but I was 100% blessed to be able to recover very well, since the first day right after the fight when I got the news. They did all the testing and the examinations, everything went well. My body was recovering."
He added:
"The UFC and my manager Ali Abdelaziz, they were always with me in this process. Trying to get the best information for me to make sure that I was gonna get fully recovered and be able to compete. That's what's gonna happen. I'm back, I'm 100%. I would even say I'm better than 100%."
Watch the video below from 0:45:
Vicente Luque after making a comeback: "I feared never doing this again."
Having spent a long time making a full recovery, Vicente Luque marked his return to the octagon with a unanimous decision victory over Rafael dos Anjos in August 2023. The fight had a few decisive moments as the two showcased high-level MMA skills.
The victory over Anjos held great significance for Luque who was visibly emotional after the fight. Speaking about how he came back with a win following his horrific injury, 'The Silent Assassin' said that he was afraid that he would not be able to fight again. He said:
"I'm a cold guy but I'm very emotional right now. It's a miracle for me to be here. I never feared anything but I feared never doing this again... And for all people who don't believe in miracles anymore, I'm a proof of that."
Check out Luque's octagon interview below:
Luque will attempt to score his second straight win by defeating Joaquin Buckley at this weekend's UFC Atlantic City event.
Luque was originally scheduled to fight Sean Brady in the headlining bout. However, Brady had to pull out of the fight due to an injury and Buckley stepped up on short notice to face Luque. The fight was thus moved to a co-main event slot.
